Story Review of Officer Buckle and Gloria

Character:  Officer Buckle 

Setting: Napville School 

Plot: Officer Buckle is good at finding safety tips.

Genre: Fiction

Perspective: Third-person viewpoint

The story, Officer Buckle and Gloria, is written and illustrated by Peggy Rathmann. It talks about Officer Buckle making and sharing his safety tips after observing school and students. Officer Buckle had more safety tips than others in Napville school. But when he gave a speech, nobody ever listened. Officer Buckle got a police dog named Gloria, so he took Gloria to Napville School to give a safety speech. During the speeches, Glodia did the actions of the safety tips when Officer Buckle explained the safety tips. Students laughed so hard and clapped their hands. But one day Officer Buckle refused to give the speech because students only looked at Gloria for funny actions and not listened to him. Then Gloria was sent to the school to give the speech by herself. Gloria sat on stage looking lonely. Gloria even fell asleep onstage. No one paid attention to Gloria during the speech. Naperville School had its biggest accident ever. So students wrote letters to Officer Buckle and wanted him to give the speech. Officer Buckle decided to go back to school again. There are three themes in the story: observation and accumulation of life experiences, how to make a good speech, and teamwork.

Observations and accumulations of life experiences are crucial for people to learn more knowledge and skills. They could help people to make better decisions in the future and provide some suggestions on how to solve problems. Officer Buckle is good at finding mistakes and safety tips at Napville school. When he sees something wrong, he will think of a new safety tip and thumbtack it to his bulletin board. When a boy does not tie his shoelaces, then he steps on his left shoelaces and falls down on the ground. So Officer Buckle says “KEEP your SHOELACES tied!” Also, when Ms. Toppel is standing on a swivel chair, she could fall down on the ground and get hurt. So Officer Buckle says “ NEVER stand on a SWIVEL CHAIR.” In addition, when someone does not turn off the water tap after using it, then the water is dripping and people who walk by would slip and fall down on the ground. So Officer Buckle says “ALWAYS wipe up spills BEFORE someone SLIPS AND FALLS.” People can have more understanding about their life from observing things and people, and previous experience. 

A good speech could help people clearly express their thoughts and ideas so the listeners can understand what they want to say. To make a good speech, people need to consider the sound of speaking, the emotion, their facial expression, or take some actions. Previously, when Officer Buckle gave the speech about safety tips, nobody listened. Now, when Officer Buckle gives a speech with the help of the police dog Glodia, everyone listens. His speech about safety tips is useful because he tries to protect students’ safety at school. Also, when Officer Buckle gives the speech, he uses the tone to let the students feel the safety tip is important. At the same time, Gloria does all the action to attract students’ attention, like “NEVER leave a THUMBTACK where you might SIT on it!” Then Gloria jumps high like he is sitting on the thumbtack. This speech makes students clap, cheer, and laugh until they cry. They remember safety so hard in their minds. So after the speech there wasn’t a single accident. A good way to give the speech will help the listeners to accept your ideas more. 

Teamwork happens when two or more people work together to complete a task effectively and efficiently. Without teamwork, people might need longer time to finish the task or the task cannot be made perfectly. During the safety tip speech, Officer Buckle reads safety tips and Gloria does the actions. Students love the speech. Officer Buckle and Gloria make a good team when they give a safety speech together. When Officer Buckle explains a safety tip on the stage, Gloria does the actions for this safety tip. The students watch and hear the safety tip. This helps students remember this safety tip clearly while they also have fun. But when Officer Buckle did not come and Gloria was all alone by herself on the stage, nobody paid attention to Gloria and no one learned any safety tips because she cannot talk. Teamwork can make the task get done successfully. 

"Officer Buckle and Gloria” is a very funny story. It helps me to understand how people make a good speech so the audience can get the ideas clearly and easily. Giving a speech is not just talking. Speakers sometimes need to do some body language or facial expressions. Also, The story clearly shows me the results of doing teamwork and not doing teamwork. It is good to have someone cooperating together to finish the task successfully. Moreover, people need to pay attention to people and things around them. So people can gain more knowledge and skills for the future. I recommend this story to young kids.