Officer Buckle and Gloria

Officer Buckle and Gloria was written and illustrated by Peggy Rathman. The genre is fictional picture book. The theme of the story is safety. The primary character is Officer Buckle and the secondary character is Gloria, his dog. This book received the Caldecott Metal in 1996. It was published by Putnam Publishing Group.

In this book, Officer Buckle goes around the schools and gives speeches about the importance of safety. When he starts taking Gloria, the dog, with him the students begin paying much more attention to the speech. Officer Buckle believes it is because of him. Then one night he watches the news and sees Gloria acting out the safety tips behind him. Officer Buckle becomes upset with Gloria and decides to stop giving his speeches. Once the children from the schools start writing him letters he decides to begin the speeches again. I would use this story with early elementary students. The book would be a good way for the children to learn about safety and friendship.