Gracie's Guide: Police Officers Are Our Friends by Headline Books / Zoom Into Books

Gracie’s friend, Brooke, is kidnapped and everyone in town goes out to search for her. This is a story happening too often in today’s society and this guide will allow your children to be informed about strangers, human trafficking, and kidnapping; plus give them some tools to cope with the situation. Gracie’s Guides -- an award-winning series that helps kids understand and know how to cope with difficult situations. The series has been endorsed by SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) and is used by Police Departments in their summer programs for kids.

About the Author Award winning author, Angie Wilson, is a veteran elementary school reading teacher. She is the creator of two children's book series, Appalachian Heritage Books and Gracie's Mysteries Series. Her books have received a London Book Festival Award, Readers' Favorite Award, Hollywood Book Festival Award, Indie Book Award for Best Series, Creative Child Magazine’s Preferred Choice Award, and three Mom's Choice Awards. She is very active in the Headline Kids School Show Program and visits classrooms throughout the year. She can often be found traveling with her husband, Derek, a church consultant minister. For more information visit www.AuthorAngieWilson.com

About the Illustrator Award-winning author and illustrator Ashley Teets is a 2012 summa cum laude graduate of Alderson-Broaddus College where she earned a B.F.A focusing on visual art with a minor in creative writing. After completing two semesters of graduate work at West Virginia University Ashley continued her graduate study through the Simmons College satellite graduate program at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Massachusetts. She holds a Masters in Arts Administration through the University of Kentucky. Ashley is also a portrait artist, muralist and art instructor. For more information visit www.AshleyTeetsIllustration.com CAD 7.91

Headline Kids is an imprint of Headline Books 2018 Independent Publisher of the Year

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Gracie’s Guide: Police Officers Are Our Friends

Angie Wilson

Illustrated by Ashley Teets Headline Kids an imprint of Headline Books, Inc Terra Alta, WV

Dedication This book is dedicated to: Bluefield City Police Chief Dennis Dillow, Sergeant Brian Copenhaver, his K-9 police dog,Thor, and Princeton City Police Chief Tim Gray. We are thankful for your service. Ariel Wagner, director of Zera House, for all you do to help women who have been victims of sex trafficking.

Gracie’s Guide: Police Officers Are Our Friends by Angie Wilson illustrated by Ashley Teets copyright ©2020Angie Wilson All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any other form or for any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage system, without written permission from Headline Books. To order additional copies of this book, for book publishing information, or to contact the author: Headline Books, Inc. P.O. Box 52, Terra Alta, WV 26764 www.HeadlineBooks.com Tel: 304-789-3001 Email: mybook@headlinebooks.com Headline Kids is an imprint of Headline Books www.AuthorAngieWilson.com ISBN-13:

9781946664815

P R I N T E D I N T H E U N I T E D S TAT E S O F A M E R I C A

“Gracie, Gracie!” Mom yelled, “There’s an emergency.” Gracie sat up on the couch, her mind was still lost in the dream she was having about solving a mystery at school. She thought she was standing in her classroom with a handful of books. “Okay, I will get all of the books returned to the library as soon as I look through them,” Gracie said matter-of-factly. “What?” Mom replied, “What books?” Gracie looked around and realized she was responding to a dream. She must’ve fallen asleep as she was finishing up her homework. She realized the voice was her mother and not Ms. T., her teacher. “Huh?” Gracie said in a groggy voice. “You need to get up quickly, I just received a call from Officer Brian. There is an emergency. Brooke is missing. He wants to know when you talked to her last.” 3

She jumped off the couch and started putting on her shoes. Her mind was circling and rambling in a million directions at once. Brooke was one of her friends at school. She was super-nice. She would never do anything to hurt anyone. Did someone kidnap her? What in the world is going on? “What are we going to do?” Gracie asked. “Officer Brian asked us to come down to the station. He is trying to get all of the information needed to find her.” It didn’t take long for the two of them to get to the police station. Brooke’s family and Ms. T. were there as well as several of the students from their class. Brooke’s mom was crying, her dad was pacing the room and her sister was scanning her phone, looking for pictures of Brooke to show the policeman. Officer Brian was so nice. Gracie knew he would do all he could to find Brooke. He talked to everyone in the room and informed them the last place she was seen was at Darcy’s Discount Store in town. They had a team of policemen searching the store for any information and checking the video footage from the store security cameras. There were several teams of policemen who were searching the town and the surrounding areas. And, they also had “Smokey,” their K-9 police dog ready to do his job.

Gracie wanted to help, but what in the world could she do? One of the policemen gathered all the kids together into another room. He asked them questions to see if they could piece together this mystery. Gracie loved nothing more than solving mysteries, she thought it was loads of fun, but this one was not fun. It was the scariest day of her life. Gracie and her friends talked about Brooke—-the things she liked, what she often talked about. The policeman wrote down a lot of things, but there didn’t seem to be any big ‘aha moment.’ 5

When Gracie and her mom left the police station, there were so many unanswered questions. The only thing that made them feel better was the fact that there were so many concerned people who were determined to find Brooke.

Several of Brooke’s school friends and their parents decided to divide up and help search. Gracie and her mom took her friends Kenzie and Bailey and began to look through the neighborhood. They spent all afternoon driving through the streets and looking for anything suspicious. 8

Meanwhile, in a corner of the city park, in a thicket, cradled in her favorite denim jacket sat Brooke. Tears were rolling down her cheeks as she was terrified to move, afraid the women would be back. She thought back on the past 24 hours and shivered. She was at Darcy’s when a woman approached her and asked her if she would help her find her little two-year-old child. The woman was in a panic, so Brooke began to search the store with her. They searched inside and then went to the parking lot. It seemed like the woman was really scared and concerned about her baby. As they were looking through the rows of cars, suddenly a van door opened and Brooke was pulled inside by another woman who held onto her as the first woman hopped into the driver’s seat and they drove away. She didn’t even remember seeing the van there, it all just happened so quickly. The next few hours were somewhat of a blur to her. They were driving around town and making plans to kidnap another young girl. Brooke prayed she would get away. She knew that she would have to act quickly if there was an opportunity. It was nothing short of a miracle that she had an opportunity to escape. The women threatened to hurt her and her family if she tried anything, so she began to cry. Brooke had cried so much that she laid down in the seat. The two women thought she was asleep. The woman hopped up to the front seat to help the other one on their quest for another person. They pulled into the city park and began to look for others to snatch. They saw a young girl sitting on the park bench who appeared to have no one around her. The two women got out of the van so they could snatch her. Brooke knew their attention was on the girl on the bench, so she jumped up as soon as they got out, climbed over the seats and escaped through the driver’s door.

She ran as fast as she could over a little hill on the edge of the park. She was too terrified to scream or run for help. She just wanted to hide. She remembered the thicket near the pond and crawled deep inside.

At the other end of town, the officers who were searching Darcy’s store, saw Brooke walking around the parking lot with a woman on the security video. They didn’t see her pulled into the van, but they did see it pull out. They sent the word out on the van and someone reported seeing it at the park. By the time the officers got to the park, the van was gone. Within minutes, officers flooded the area. Officer Brian and Smokey were on her trail. The dog led the way over the hill and to the thicket. He began to bark as Officer Brian crawled inside and found Brooke. She was safe. The whole town was relieved at the news, but Brooke’s story put everyone on alert.

The city police officers spent a lot of time talking to the children at school, informing them of the dangers of talking to strangers. Officer Brian talked to Gracie’s class and shared Brooke’s story. “It seemed like she was being helpful to the woman, but it was all a trick!” he told them. “The lesson you learned in kindergarten still holds true now, ‘Never talk to strangers.’ There are times when kids are afraid of police officers and will actually hide from us. One little boy thought I was the bad guy. He hid when he saw me coming. You all need to know that police officers are the good guys!” Officer Brian took a piece of chalk and wrote in big letters on the board, POLICE ARE GOOD! “We are here to help you. We are just normal people who have taken a vow to protect others. Please don’t run from us.”

The town seemed like a different place after that incident. Everyone was always looking over their shoulder, but they knew Officer Brian and the rest of the police force were working hard to keep them safe. They were shocked to hear the two women were caught and they were a part of a human-trafficking business. Who would’ve thought that such a thing would happen in their little town? Gracie couldn’t believe some people actually take other people and make them slaves. It is a real thing. A big thing. There is more human trafficking in the world now than ever before. Officer Brian invited all the kids in Gracie’s class to a big cookout at his house. Smokey was there, too. It was the coolest thing ever! They saw that what he said was right, he was just a super-nice guy who really cared about the people in their town. He had a big heart and was on call to help at any moment. And, he grilled the most awesome hot dogs in town!

Word Search Y E T C D S F Z D A R L P Q B C Z W N Z F B C P

S X Y I R B J N Y R E J O F F I C E R B R I A N

P L O T O E A A I I I N Q J J S A P T E Z O C U

Z F P Y K K G R D Z V R B Z L D Y R E W C B R B

B Y A P Z C I N R E T E H B Q X R O O J F S G W

P P R A E R E N A D V C N O D I X T R M L R F M

protect park bench questions smokey Officer Brian 18

W X K R C T W L I D L T S K O M M E Z O L U O O

N B B K C J G F A N R X J N M G U C C S Q A V K

P N E U V I V F F Z P E T N O O D T D H Z F F D

N O N D B U U O H O K P G K M I G U F M N N L S

S P C V T H I C K E T O L N Y F T H Y T X Q V D

O N H U G E X M T G P L X H A P U S N V L J P Y

S V F W K Z M C J T Z I O Z Q R T Z E V U E W E

G K L O N B B N D P H C N F W E T P J U C K U K

T O O Y Q O B A D E E E E X R E A S U V Q R H O

stranger danger miracle clues policemen Brooke

Q R M I B Y I Z V P G M J Y Y S L T P V F O V M

B H X E J S S T G M N E E C N T O A D L M V G S

R C F V O O Y C A N N N V R L D S J H V C B P G

S F Y J Y Y S O Q M Y B D B G K G N G K X F F V

R W J M C T D H S U R M D U T E X E L C A R I M

Z V E G L L J O H C W O Q C K B N I B I C X G B

T F N Q U F O E T U L C F Z P Q P C B I V C I L

thicket city park mystery information emergency

Y R L X E V I A A I U J P N Q A K I Y D F Q U Z

J E G L S V R K W V Z P L K I T F P C O W P R Z

Color Gracie and Smokey Dogs are not only man’s best friend but are trained to help the Police do their job. Dogs are also trained to help our armed services -- the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines. Many of you may have seen handicapped people using trained service dogs to help them cross the street or help them in their homes, and there are therapy dogs trained to help people in need like those with emotional problems. 19

Across 4 What is the name of the police dog? 6 Who called Gracie’s mom at the beginning of the story? (two words) 8 How many women were involved in kidnapping Brooke? 9 Who did Officer Brian tell the children were the good guys? 10 Who did the policemen tell the children to stay away from?

Down 1 What word did the kids use to describe Officer Brian’s hot dogs? 2 Where was Brooke hiding? (two words) 3 Gracie’s mom woke her up because this was going on. 5 Who was lost? 7 What did Officer Brian invite the students to at his house? (two words)

Cross Word Puzzle 1 2

4 5 6

7 8 9 10

Write a story about the time you helped someone in need.

Draw a picture to illustrate your story.

Solve the Secret Message

FIQNYR I D D NYR PV HPR UGR B I I X B S C V.

H E Y X R D B G N Z K Q J A B C D E F G H I J K L M L I F M P U S A T W C O V N O P Q R T U V W X Y Z ?

If you need help always look for a police officer.

Draw a picture of your town with safe places you could go to for help.

Mark your safe places on your map!

Word Scramble

MAECINLPO

________________

KEMOSY

________________

KGAPDININP

________________

UEINSSQOT

________________

GHOENOBRIHDO

________________

RGEMEECYN

________________

Word Scramble: policeman, Smokey, kidnapping, questions, neighborhood, emergency 29

Who Are Strangers? When you’re walking home from school, a person in a car pulls up and asks you for directions. At the park, someone says he needs you to help look for his lost puppy. These people may seem friendly, but no matter what they say to you, they have one thing in common: They’re strangers. Most strangers aren’t dangerous and wouldn’t do anything to hurt kids. Unfortunately, though, some strangers can be dangerous, and it’s impossible to tell who’s OK and who’s not. A dangerous person doesn’t necessarily look scary or mean — the person might look nice. That’s why it’s important to follow these safety rules all the time:

Make Your Whereabouts Known The adult who’s taking care of you needs to know where you are at all times. That means telling your mom or dad, grandmother, babysitter, or whoever is keeping an eye on you where you are and when you’ll be coming home.

Stick With a Friend It’s more fun and safer to do things with friends. Take along a buddy when you walk to school, bike around the park, or go to the store. Traveling with a friend whenever you can is a good idea, and traveling with a bunch of kids is even better.

Pick Out Safe Spots What are safe spots? Safe spots are places where you can stop if you need help, like the houses of kids you know, your parents’ friends’ houses, stores, restaurants, police stations, libraries, and fire departments. When you’re walking or riding your bike, make a mental note of the safe spots along your route. That way, you’ll know where they are in case you ever need one.

Avoid Places That Aren’t Safe Be sure to keep away from isolated areas. These are places where no one is around, like the woods or small, dark streets. Let Grown-Ups (and Only Grown-Ups) Help Strangers

It’s nice to help people. But remember: Strangers should ask adults — not kids — for help. 30

If a stranger approaches you and asks you for help — such as with giving directions, finding lost money, or searching for a runaway dog — don’t help. Don’t even give an answer. Right away, you should walk the other way. If you’re not near a safe spot, try any store or restaurant. If you feel you’re in danger, yell for help.

Make a Lot of Noise If You’re Scared You’ve probably been told lots of times that you should not yell. You should keep it down, be calm, or use your inside voice. When you think you might be in danger, forget all of that advice! That’s the perfect time to be noisy! If a stranger approaches you (on foot or in a car) and follows you when you try to walk away, yell for help as you run away. If a stranger ever tries to grab you, yell as loudly as you can and try to get away. You can shout things like, “Help! I don’t know you!” or “Help! This isn’t my dad!” People in the area will hear what’s going on and help you, so make plenty of noise. © 1995- . The Nemours Foundation/KidsHealth®. Reprinted with permission.

Human trafficking is when people are sold or traded for the purpose of forced labor. It is modern-day slavery. It happens in the United States and all over the world.  There are approximately 20 to 30 million slaves in the world

today.  According to the U.S. State Department, 600,000 to 800,000

people are trafficked across international borders every year, of which 80% are female and half are children. If you suspect human trafficking, call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center at 1-888-373-7888 or text the Polaris BeFree Helpline at 233733

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Headline Kids is an imprint of Headline Books 2018 Independent Publisher of the Year

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