Peggy Rathmann
Author and Illustrator

By Patricia Evans

Visit Peggy Rathmann's Homepage. Peggy Rathmann was born March 4, 1953 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Her full name is Margaret Crosby Rathmannn. She reports a happy childhood growing up with her two brothers and two sisters. A graduate of the University of Minnesota, she also studied art and children's book writing. She and her husband, John Wick, live in San Francisco. She often travels around the United States entertaining children with her hilarious drawing demonstrations and dramatic readings from her picture books.

Rathmann first started drawing for her nieces about ten years ago. On a family vacation her two young nieces both wanted to sit next to their other aunt who is "extremely attractive, intelligent and pleasant to be around." Rathmann said she wanted to sit beside her sister too, but was forced to sit beside her younger niece. Rathmann pulled out a sketchbook and started to draw a story starring her niece and herself. They were both beautiful and very intelligent in the story. This helped her win over both her nieces. She continued the story over the next two years to amuse them.

One of these nieces, Robin Rathmann-Noonan, wrote about her aunt in The Horn Book Magazine. She said that when her father, Rathmann's brother, was running for student council president in the ninth grade, seventh grader Peggy created beautiful campaign posters to put up in the halls. Her father won. After the election, when he went to take the posters, they were all gone because other students had taken them home as souvenirs.

Rathmann-Noonan described her aunt as follows, "Though Peggy looks like an adult and acts like an adult, she has a window into the world of children. With her words and pictures, she entertains us, teaches us, and cares for us. I have learned a lot from my Aunt Peggy, but I think the most important thing is that you must do something you really enjoy. It may take you a long time to find it, but only settle for something that is right for you. I know Peggy is doing something that is right for her." (1)

Rathmann gets her ideas for her books from her own life. While at the Otis Parsons School, she spent the first three weeks copying characters from other classmates. Rathmann recalled in an interview, "Finally the teacher convinced me that even a beginning writer can create an original character if the character is driven by the writer's most secret weirdness. Eureka! A little girl with a passion for plagiarism! I didn't want anyone to kow it was me so I made the character look like my sister." (2) This is where the inspiration came for her first picture book, Ruby the Copycat. Kyle, a young reader, has written a review of Ruby the Copycat.

After the success of this book, Rathmann illustrated a children's book for Barbara Bottner, Bootsie Barker Bites. Rathmann's niece said that the image of Bootsie is really a self-portrait of Rathmann because she did not want to offend anyone else.

Rathmann's next book was Goodnight, Gorilla, about a gorilla who takes the zoo keeper's keys and follows him home with other zoo animals. This book has very few words. Most of the story is told by the pictures.

Rathmann won the 1996 Caldecott Medal for her book, Officer Buckle and Gloria, about a police officer who gives lectures about safety to elementary students. Behind his back, his dog Gloria is acting out what he says. Officer Buckle thinks the children love him until he sees Gloria on television. Rathmann got the idea for this book from her parents' dog Skippy. She wrote, "We have a videotape of my mother chatting in the dining room while, unnoticed by her or the cameraman, the dog is licking every poached egg on the buffet. The next scene shows the whole family at the breakfast table, complimenting my mother on the delicious poached eggs. The dog, of course, is pretending not to know what a poached egg is. The first time we watched that tape we were so shocked, we couldn't stop laughing. I suspect that videotape had a big influence on my choice of subject matter." (3) On other occasions, Skippy has eaten wallets and danced around the living room with dirty diapers that he has taken from the diaper pail while the family was away. Bookpage has some information on her and Officer Buckle and Gloria at Officer Buckle and Gloria.

In an article for Publisher's Weekly, Doug Whitman, children's book president and publisher for Putnam, said that when the book, Officer Buckle and Gloria, won the 1996 Caldecott Medal, the company sold out of their remaining copies within days of the announcement. During that week, Putnam received more back orders for this book than for any of its previous Caldecott winners. (4)

A review of Officer Buckle and Gloria by ProMotion, Inc. said, "The book's art is done in bright colors with a bold line and different treatments. Their humor captures Gloria's perspective and gives readers that feeling kids love in a picute book--that they're in on the secret. Lots of little details in the illustrations add content and value to the story that may or may not be noticed on the first read." (5)

Julie Cummins, chair of the Caldecott Award Selection Committee said, "Peggy Rathmann knows what appeals to a child audience in her talk of lively antics of police dog Gloria and the earnest Safety Officer Buckle. Rathmann integrates picture, context and total design into a united whole. Gloria's irreverent acrobatics behind Buckle's back contrast with the officer's straight-laced safety tips to school audiences. The original, lively and energetic art leads the reader through a story of cooperation and friendship. The cartoon-style watercolor and ink illustrations employ brilliant colors combined with a creative use of white space engages the reader in the humor and warmth of this stellar performance." (6) Officer Buckle and Gloria was also a Children's Choice Award Winners in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Rathmann explained why she writes picture books. "There's a funny thing that happens between words and pictures. A picture book is a special medium. Because the pictures don't work without the words and the words don't work without the pictures. Pictures enable me to make a better story than I could with with words alone." (7)

Peggy Rathmann received Publishers Weekly's Cuffie Award for Ruby the Copycat in 1991. Her Good Night, Gorilla was an ALA Notable Children's Book and a Parenting Magazine's Best Children's Book for 1994. She received the 1996 Caldecott Medal for Officer Buckle and Gloria.

Kids will love her site Hamsters! Take the 10-Minute Bedtime tour! which features games and other fun. Also, be sure to visit PenguinPutnam's Peggy Rathmann Page where you will learn more about her.

References and Bibliography

1. Robin Rathmann-Noonan, "Aunt Peggy," The Horn Book Magazine, July-Aug. 1996, p. 429.

2. "Officer Buckle and Gloria capturs the Caldecott Award," ProMotion, Inc., 1996, p. 1.

3. "Peggy Rathmann," The Putnam Berkeley Group, Inc. 1995-6, p. 2.

4. "Back to Press for Newbery, Caldecott Books," Publishers Weekly, 5 Feb., 1996, p. 20.

5. Officer Buckle and Gloria Captures..., p. 2.

6. "Peggy Rathmann" American Library Association. 1996, p. 1.

7. Diane Roback and Shannon Maughan, "Spring 1995 Children's Books," Publishers Weekly, 20 Feb., 1995.

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