Sam and the Firefly (Beginner Books)

Yow wow! It's the fifties and "bad tricks" are afoot in smalltown USA as a firefly named Gus unleashes the power of language in the absence of moral precepts. Eastman writes a strange, broken kind of blank verse which gets pretty tiresome by the end.

'Sam and the Firefly' is a great book that teaches lessons for a beginning reader about right and wrong. It could be used to teach elementary level students about bullying and harrassment. It could also be used to discuss decision making. In the end all i, ' has a lot of potential teaching social

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behaviors. This book also has a fair amount of rhyme and repetition in it making it great for a beginner reader. Mini-lessons are an opportunity to teach something quickly and 'Sam and the Firefly, ' could keep a teacher busy for a while. It isn't a simple book and could be very useful for grades 3-5. Younger children read it and re-tell it. Older children could read it, and learn it. **** Early reader, moral

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While in the Dr. Seuss library, this simple story is cute but not as masterly as some others in the collection. Sam, a lonely owl because all his potential friends are asleep when he is awake, finally meets a playmate in Gus, the firefly. Too bad that little bug has a tricky streak ...

The story is

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sweet, with a good message, and if it does hit you over the head with its moral, that's not too bad in books for young children. The characters are silly animals which is appealing. The language is stilted, and I think that is due to the fact that the writers are deliberately using simple words that beginning readers can decode. So it's good in the sense that the book can be instructional, but it always bothers me a little when the language has to suffer in order to fit a certain reading level. I've seen other books successfully use easily decoded words in a language that still sounds natural and doesn't grate on the ear. Still, this was the major flaw with the story and that's not so bad. With its cute characters and morals, and happy ending, this reminded me of one of those old Disney cartoons. Simple, but still satisfying, even if nothing to be too excited about.

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"Sam and the Firefly" is about an owl that teaches a firefly to write words with his light. Unfortunately, the firefly uses his new found skill to cause trouble. When he angers the wrong hot dog vendor, he is caught and kept in a jar until the car gets stuck on the train tracks. The vendor releases

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him and he uses his light to write "STOP" in front of the oncoming train.

This book teaches a lesson about making good decisions. Morally, the message is obvious but, to younger readers, not overwhelming. I read this book to a group of second graders and they seemed to grasp the concept as well as enjoy the book. They could easily identify that the firefly was doing bad things until he got in trouble, and that he felt happier when he decided to do nice things. However, many of them connect being nice to having friends rather than just making the right decision for yourself. The language in the book is very simple and would be a good one for beginning readers to sound out for themselves also, but I think that second grade was a good age to read this book aloud.

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This is the story of a firefly who learns to use his ability to write words in the night sky for good things instead of playing mean tricks that cause trouble. It is a great book to introduce friendships and the idea of looking out for one another. It also teaches a great lesson on how even fun

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things can be problematic, and being considerate of others.

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Sam the owl becomes friends with Gus the firefly are friends in this fun book about making new friends in places you don't expect. I enjoyed the storyline in this one more than the illustrations because they were so dark and didn't bring too much attention off of the story like most picture books.

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This book played more into the heartfelt story being told about the two characters. I also really liked having these two animals used for the characters, it is not normal to use an owl and a firefly but it was successfully done in this one.

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Another childhood favoriteee.

This is a modern fantasy picture book for 1st to 2nd graders. This was not the typical Dr. Seuss book I thought it was, there was no rhyming scheme, but I feel like it still had a rhythmic flow to the text. What I loved most about this book was the illustrations, with the dark blues to signify

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night and the bright yellow to emphasize the firefly’s light. This is a great book for students, not only did it have a great central message, but I also felt like in that throughout the story, it emphasized the fun things you can do with words, and even the power you can have when knowing words. It is important however, to use the power and knowledge for a good cause, and not to trick people, which is a great central message that concluded the story!

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I absolutely love this book! Super cute, it tells the story of an owl who just wanted to make friends to play with at night. Sam (the owl) finds a friend in the firefly and they have a great time using the firefly's light to make words in the night time sky. The children at the nursery I work at

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didn't necessarily understand everything that was going on with the book, but the imagery of the night time were easily conveyed, and even two-year-olds were able to understand the pictures in the book.

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So this is really more of an easy reader then a picture book. The story is very much a moral tale that feels a little bit old fashioned. I love the artwork though.

So this is really more of an easy reader then a picture book. The story is very much a moral tale that feels a little bit old fashioned. I love the artwork though.

So this is really more of an easy reader then a picture book. The story is very much a moral tale that feels a little bit old fashioned. I love the artwork though.

So this is really more of an easy reader then a picture book. The story is very much a moral tale that feels a little bit old fashioned. I love the artwork though.

Fun cautionary fable of a firefly who learns to write words and uses his new skill to wield power and wreak havoc, until he has a chance to use his power for good. Then he comes to his senses and the owl and the firefly are friends ever after.

(Read in The Big Red Book of Beginner Books.)