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 ( )

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. ( )

Almost every kid goes through a loss of a pet when they are younger. This book is about a family pet who has always been there for them through thick and thin. Its a remembrance of his special times with him up until the time Sammy passes. It shows the emotions of both the child and parents in a way that kids could understand. This could be beneficial in homes of young ones. ( )

"Sammy in the Sky" was wonderfully done. It followed a little boy and his family as they loved their hound dog, Sammy, until he passed. The book recounts the dog sleeping next to the little boy, comforting him when he was sad, chasing bubbles, and playing at the beach. Anyone who has experienced the loss of a pet can relate to each page of this book. They can recognize the familiar failures like lumps appearing, and the animal starting to fall more often. It is heartbreaking and the book allowed it all to happen. Eventually Sammy did pass and the dad buried him in the backyard. I also liked how the book recognized the adults' feelings of sadness too, since it affects everyone in the family. I thought it was nice that they held a bubble celebration at the beach for the dog and the children looked for his "spirit" among the clouds. The painted illustrations were beautiful and I could feel the love through the images. ( )

keeping your love for pet that has past away and you want to remember them. ( )