Police Patrol: By Katherine K. Winkleman

          As my little brother prepares to head off to Old Dominion University to study criminal justice in just under a month, I could not have chosen a more appropriate informational picture book to review. Police Patrol, by Katherine Winkleman offers the reader an educational and intriguing tour into the world of police work. Beginning with the police car cruising down a neighborhood street on the first end paper, each page spread introduces a new division of law enforcement. Cartoon-style illustrations by John Winkleman show each law enforcement division discussed in action, providing tons of details for the reader, and including informational labels for diagrams of an officer's uniform, inside a police station and more. Readers will get to learn about everything from undercover detectives to highway patrols, scuba units to bomb squads, and the Miranda warning to fingerprinting suspects. This book teaches young readers the official lingo used by law enforcement, from "perp" to radio codes like 10-4, 10-10 and much more. They'll also learn tips about how to stay safe anywhere, how to make a 911 call for help, all while developing a deeper understanding and appreciation for the hardworking people that keep us all safe.
          Informational picture book, Police Patrol, is brimming with knowledge about the world of law enforcement. Author Katherine Winkleman and her husband, illustrator John Winkleman, consulted over 100 police officers while researching for this book, make them excellent sources of information on this topic. Each subject explored contains a big blue heading that allows the reader to know exactly what is begin discussed and helps to create an organizational flow to the different pieces of law enforcement and the detailed images that accompany them. These illustrations are a crucial component of this book in that they provide so much information, not explained in the text. It is almost as if the pictures serve as a magnifying glass into the role of law enforcement, providing an in-depth view of its different purposes.
      Children grades K through 3 (ages 4-8) will love getting the inside scoop about law enforcement and learning about how police officers serve as community leaders in many diverse ways. Each brightly colored image serves as a miniature story in itself, jam-packed with details and information to enhance the text. This book would be great to use with younger children who are studying community leaders, but would also be useful to upper-elementary school students who could further contextualize the material being taught. I really appreciate the positive light that this book places on police officers and law enforcement, highlighting the huge role they play in making our communities safe. Police Patrol is a wonderful addition to any lower-elementary classroom library, or lesson about community leaders, teaching the reader everything they could ever want to know about law enforcement.

Picture Source: http://www.amazon.com/Police-Patrol-Katherine-K-Winkleman/dp/0802784534