Bio-Critical Essay on Writer/Illustrator

 Peggy Rathmann

This essay is based on reading the interviews, reading the book reviews, and the books, Ruby, the Copycat, Good Night, Gorilla, and Officer Buckle and Gloria.

Peggy Rathmann was born in St. Paul, Minnesota on March 4, 1953.  She lived in the suburbs and has two brothers and two sisters.  Peggy Rathmann seems to have lived the American dream of childhood: swimming pools, kool-aid, snow sculpturing, a stay at home Mom and a dog.  She says that her family life was close-knit and happy.   This gave her rich and varied childhood experiences to draw on for her writing and artwork.

Peggy did not experience a perfect life though.  In a Publishers Weekly interview she tells of her struggle to learn to read because of undiagnosed nearsightedness, being tall for her age, and about her shyness.  This led to criticism from her peers. Her sight problems and sitting at the back of the class influenced the size of the drawings in her works. 

Ruby, the Copycat is the story of a new girl at school.  She is unsure of herself and how everyone will like her. Ruby copycats everything Angela says she has done and copycats what Angela wears.  She also copies an assignment.  By the end of the week Angela is annoyed and Ruby cries.  The teacher tells Ruby to be herself and finally she tries it.  It ends with the class and Angela liking her. School Library Journal calls it, “A book with a strong story and complementary illustrations that addresses the philosophical question of individuality vs. conformity.”

This book grew out Peggy Rathmann’s insecurities and she says “an embarrassing secret of plagiarizing her fellow students in writing class.”   She drew Ruby to look like one of her sisters so no one would know it was her.  I think it reflects Ms. Rathmann’s own struggle to discover her own individuality:  changing degree programs continually and being a pre-med candidate before deciding to be an artist.

Ms. Rathmann’s next book, Good Night, Gorilla, is about a zoo keeper who tells each animal good night as he walks out of the zoo and is oblivious to what is going on behind his back.  The gorilla steals the keys and lets each animal out as they pass the cages.  The zoo keeper’s house is close and the animals follow him home.  They all go to bed and the zoo keeper’s wife takes them back to the zoo.  But she doesn’t notice the gorilla and the mouse follow her home.  There are only ten different words in this book, truly a picture book.  Publishers Weekly says, “"Universally understandable subject matter and a narrative conveyed almost entirely through pictures mark this as an ideal title for beginners.”

  Good Night, Gorilla is based on Ms. Rathmann’s childhood experience of playing outside until the sun went down and wondering what it would be like to go to someone else’s home.  She says that this book also grew out of a class assignment to write a book no one understands with only reading the text. 

Ms. Rathmann’s next book, Officer Buckle and Gloria, is about a police officer who gives safety speeches at school assemblies.  At first he is boring.  But then the department buys a dog named Gloria.  She accompanies Officer Buckle to the assemblies.  She is sitting whenever he looks back at her but is being upstaged.  She is providing visual example to the safety rule he is stating.  Officer Buckle does not know what is happening until a TV news team videotapes one of the assemblies.  He sees it on the news that night and is miffed.  The next day he vows to give no more speeches.  Gloria goes alone to the next school and is just as boring.  Plus a huge accident occurs.  Officer Buckle hears of the accident plus a girl writes him a letter saying that Gloria missed him.  He makes up his best safety tip ever, “Always stick with your buddy.”

Officer Buckle and Gloria incorporates both ideas from her previous work.  She writes a book that can not be understood without seeing the pictures and shows the insecurity of the main character, Officer Buckle.  It also draws from her childhood experiences of her parent’s dog, Skippy, and all of his naughty exploits.   She also states that this story is based on her obsession about safety.  Booklist has this to say, “Like Officer Buckle and Gloria, the deadpan humor of the text and slapstick wit of the illustrations make a terrific combination.”  The theme of insecurity was played out in real life when she learned that she had won the Caldecott Medal for this book.  She was worried about all the attention she was about to receive and the criticism she would receive.  It took letters from children to reassure her.

The pictures in Peggy Rathmann’s books extend the text and almost tell the story without the words.  One would not stand without the other.  The pictures are necessary to tell the story and almost stand alone in Officer Buckle and Gloria and in Good Night, Gorilla.

Peggy Rathmann’s personality and heritage are reflected in her work.  She takes a kernel of an idea from childhood or writing class and grows it into a children’s picture book that is pleasing from a child’s point of view.