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Police Officers on Patrol

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A broken light might cause a crash! Who can help? Who is fast? Officer Mike, on traffic patrol! Situation? Under control! ?When people need help, we rock and roll!? With Kersten Hamilton?s high-energy rhyming text that begs to be read aloud, and R. W. Alley?s warm and silly illustrations, this picture book is a fun and reassuring way to tell kids about what police offi - cers do. ?With a well-crafted text spiced with sound effects, this appealing picture book is highly recommended.?? Booklist , starred review for Red Truck

32 pages, Hardcover

First published April 16, 2009

5 people are currently reading
119 people want to read

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Kersten Hamilton

40 books295 followers

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5 stars
44 (17%)
4 stars
83 (33%)
3 stars
99 (39%)
2 stars
19 (7%)
1 star
4 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
Profile Image for Gretyl.
122 reviews8 followers
July 1, 2016
Great for police related or community helper storytime. Use of rhyme, colored pencil drawings will resonate with young audiences.
20 reviews1 follower
November 28, 2017
Police officers on patrol is a book by Kersten Hamilton and pictures by R.W. Alley A broken light might cause a crash! Who can help? Who is fast? The cover of the book is very colorful with lots of design and it shows that all three of the officers on the run. The title of the book has a stamping effect with thick bold letters and dark color to make it stand out. This book also has jacket flaps where the story is summerized on the front and on the back it tells a little about both the author and illustrator.
The book starts out with a double page spread on the first page you see the officers changing into their uniforms. On the next page you see a completed uniform with the words saying "uniform!,badge! radio! police officers, getting ready to go."
Throughout the book the pages continue to have bright colors and good expressions the faces of the officers. The pictures were hand drawn but used water colors to fill the pictures in.The officers had to report to Sergeant Santole as he yelled "people need help let's rock in roll". A broken light might cause a crash! who can help? Who is fast? Officer mike is on patrol go, mike, go! Situation under control! "when people need help, we rock and roll". Throughout the rest of the book the different officers continue to save the day. Some of the pages show pictures that have two pictures on one page showing sequience of what is going to happen next. At the end officer carl is responding to a crime being taken place. As he runs through the streets he got the situation under control and Sergeant Santole responds with "when people need help, we rock and roll." "Uniform! badge! radio! " if you need help, we're on patrol!"
232 reviews
January 9, 2021
Very cute illustrations. We got this through Imagination Library. I’m just not a fan of so many sentence fragments or slang like “let’s rock and roll” being so much repeated through the book text. I also think it was poorly chosen for the age bracket. My 3.5-year-old received it, but my not yet 2-year-old was copying words from it. If development is what we’re going for with a book program, let’s help the kids reach higher.
Profile Image for Lacy | literary_lacy.
657 reviews
February 18, 2021
This was my 3-year old’s December Imagination Library book. I read this to my toddler and infant, and they both really enjoyed it.

My 9-month old absolutely loved this book. He kept smiling as I was reading it. He just really enjoyed it.

This book had colorful illustrations with short, simple sentences to keep little ones invested. This book also, teaches kids what cops are supposed to do-help others.

Overall, this is a cute book for little ones.
Profile Image for Set.
2,173 reviews
March 14, 2025
A tender take on police officers and how they're here to help society. It's good if you want your children to respect authority and not fear police officers. The pictures are also very nice. I wish I would've had a book like this when I was little. I always got nervous around them as if I was some sort of bank robber on the lamb or something. haha
10.8k reviews29 followers
May 9, 2017
Police are getting ready for their day and heading out to help people. I really liked this book showed a variety of police activities but would have liked a few more explanations. Toddler and up and a great refrain for kids to repeat.
Profile Image for Lana Jackson.
187 reviews11 followers
September 27, 2025
"Police Officers On Patrol" shows examples of the types of situations that a police officer would come to help a person. It's a lively, fun book for children. Illustrations are colorful and action based.
Profile Image for Karla.
1,668 reviews15 followers
September 26, 2018
Kids enjoyed this quick story at lunch today
Illustrations are ok

Repetitious

which is great

some rhymes too

pretty high quality book I'd recommend
Profile Image for Abby Frye.
1,037 reviews2 followers
February 17, 2021
Beautiful artwork and I love that the author shows police helping children to help kids reading see they can go to officers for help.
Profile Image for Molly.
167 reviews4 followers
July 15, 2025
Sweet and well-illustrated, you learn even more about the characters from the pictures than the story details. Teaches that police are here to help.
Profile Image for Jessica.
282 reviews33 followers
October 15, 2013
A story told in rhyme about the different types of police officers on patrol. Now if my child checked this out at the library, I would say that it does present an opportunity to teach them on the subject. A police officer could arrive in a car, on a horse or on foot, but I protest to the phrase "Rock and Roll" being used one too many times. Perhaps it is used to teach children the art of repetition, but I wouldn't have used it. Other than that, I have given this book a four star rating, because the situations are real, the responses are done quickly and favorable outcomes present by the end. The pictures are great, the officers are both male and female so as to not leave any gender out and it is my belief that children could learn from this book.
Profile Image for Chris Eboch.
Author 33 books54 followers
June 10, 2009
Kersten Hamilton is fabulous at writing very short, action-packed, fun-filled books for preschool children. This is another winner, especially for boys who will love getting a look at what police officers do. The officers (including a woman) are competent, energetic and friendly. The bright, fairly simple illustrations back up the story well.
28 reviews
June 23, 2009
This would probably be a good read aloud for young toddlers. The text is very simple and the drawings are bright. Various types of officers are shown, including mounted police. The refrain, "When people need help, we rock and roll!" is not my favorite thing ever, but overall, I think kids will respond well to the book.
Profile Image for Arapahoe Libraries.
353 reviews59 followers
July 16, 2009
Sometimes people need help, so it's a good thing there's so many kinds of police officers! Bright and positive, this rhyming story follows Sargeant Santole as he dispatches his officers around town. Broken traffic lights, lost children, and bank robberies are all tended to by the traffic, mounted, and crime patrols. "Situation? Under control. 'When people need help, we rock and roll!'"
Profile Image for Laudys.
166 reviews8 followers
November 14, 2012
I'll admit it, I couldn't help singing out loud the words, it's that catchy.
Also, it says "we rock and roll", how more awesome can this book get?

A nice, dynamic read to teach young children the different kind of police officers that go on patrol and the situations they can help you with. Really cute.
Profile Image for Brooke.
303 reviews
February 8, 2017
This is an amazing rhyming book that will teach kids about what police officers do. It features 3 different police officers who do traffic stops, help a lost boy find his mom, and stop two robbers from taking an ATM. It is also fairly short for a book of this type. Parents and children loved it when I had a Police Officer read it during Pre-K storytime!
Profile Image for Molly.
1,026 reviews7 followers
April 29, 2009
This will be fabulous for anyone doing a unit on public servants. This is written in ryhme and the illustrations are fun. This is a great story about police officers and a few of the things they do. Ages 2+
Profile Image for Erin.
371 reviews4 followers
June 3, 2009
Even though I am generally not a fan of cops and find these kinds of books boring this is a cute one. The illustrations are adorable and the rhyming text makes all the difference. A cute story all around.
Profile Image for Katie.
1,286 reviews11 followers
July 26, 2015
Read at Home Town Heroes Story Time - 7/11/15

Short and sweet book about 3 types of police officers. Repetition and rhymes.

I really enjoyed details in the illustrations. Would make great one on one book.
Profile Image for Allison.
437 reviews
April 29, 2009
PERFECT. Pictures match the story perfectly, rhymes match up perfectly... fun fun fun!!!

Uniform!
Badge!
Radio!
Police officers,
getting ready to go!
Profile Image for Marie.
343 reviews6 followers
May 6, 2009
Fun introduction to the roles of police officers, with a repeating phrase and lots of rhyme.
Profile Image for Boni.
Author 11 books74 followers
May 14, 2009
I think this would be quite appealing to toddler boys, but her use of near rhyme was a problem for me. I'm not a fan of it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews

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