Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann (1995) is a Caldecott Medal winner, a story that doubles as a lesson in safety. Multiple safety tips are tacked to the opening two pages and sprinkled through the book in pictures and text. Rathmann's accidents happen in two ways, people experience them and Gloria mimes them. Gloria is a lovable pup that reminds us children respond well when content respects their age-appropriate needs. But Gloria also makes a mistake. Officer Buckle is hurt and angry because he’s left out of her winning strategy for engaging audiences. We can try to emphasize. Have we been in a situation where everyone knew something we didn’t, when even our buddy didn’t tell us? This clever story is a story of friendship made, damaged, and mended.
