Barbara Walsh

Sammy in the Sky by Barbara Walsh, paintings by Jamie Wyeth, is a heartwarming tale of a family’s beloved hound dog, Sammy. When Sammy is twelve years old, Daddy finds a large lump on Sammy’s neck which the veterinarian says medicine cannot cure. The family tries their best to enjoy what time they have left with Sammy. When Sammy’s condition quickly worsens, Mom explains that when Sammy dies “his body will be like an empty shell, but his spirit will be everywhere,” and “all the good things about Sammy, like his love for you, will be yours to keep forever.” After a time passes, the family returns to Sammy’s favorite field and finds a special way to remember the “best hound dog in the world”.

Critical Analysis: This touching story is about love, illness, and loss of a pet through the eyes of a little girl. It will help children to learn about celebrating the love they share with a pet and how to connect with the idea that someone who is gone is really always with you. This is a great teacher bibliotherapy text for children dealing with illness or the loss of a loved one. Sue Park's TED Talk, highlights the important gift of children's literature as bibliotherapy as well as "Reading for Practice of Life - leading to - Empathy Igniting Engagement" and their direct connections to difficult social-emotional topic explorations. It is not a question of comfortability - it is a thoughtful response to meeting students' needs.

Favorite Quote "He'll always be with us."

Honors and Awards
Bank Street CBC Best Children's Book of the Year
Maine Library Association Lupine Award
Maine Literary Award… (meer)

Beautiful illustrations by Jamie Wyeth complement this poignant story of a kid's love for a dog. The story is semi-autobiographical, and the jacket copy indicates the protagonist is a girl, but both text and pictures are gender neutral; any child should be able to identify with the character and the situations. The dog dies at the end, which is sad, and the children process their grief in a wholesome manner.
I would not be able to read this to a room full of kids without risking tears, but it would be a good support with a kid who was sad about losing a pet.… (meer)