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144th out of 926 books
—
637 voters
Sam and the Firefly
by
P.D. Eastman
Illus. in color. The story of an incredible twosome that "provides interest, suspense and word repetition. Illustrations excellent. Recommended."--(starred) School Library Journal.
Hardcover, 72 pages
Published
September 12th 1958
by Random House Books for Young Readers
(first published 1958)
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3.5 STARS
How cute is Sam!? I love the cover ;-) Sam is the adorable owl who longs for a friend when he awakens at night and all the other farm and woodland animals are asleep. Lonely Sam finally finds a firefly and they strike up a friendship. The best fun is that Sam knows how to write words and he flies around forming letters, with the firefly following him, and the firefly's glow makes the words glow in the night sky. How neat! Up to this point, I like the story very much. The illustrations a...more
How cute is Sam!? I love the cover ;-) Sam is the adorable owl who longs for a friend when he awakens at night and all the other farm and woodland animals are asleep. Lonely Sam finally finds a firefly and they strike up a friendship. The best fun is that Sam knows how to write words and he flies around forming letters, with the firefly following him, and the firefly's glow makes the words glow in the night sky. How neat! Up to this point, I like the story very much. The illustrations a...more
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Eastman, P.D. Sam and the Firefly. New York: Random House Books for Young Readers, 1958.
Genre - Fiction - Animals
This book is about an owl who wakes up at night and has no one to play with. The owl then sees a bunch of glowing lights and comes to find his new friend Gus the firefly. The Owl has a great idea to spell out their names in the sky using Gus's tail. After they spell out their first few words Gus finds out how much fun it is to spell words and begins to cause mischief by telling cars...more
Genre - Fiction - Animals
This book is about an owl who wakes up at night and has no one to play with. The owl then sees a bunch of glowing lights and comes to find his new friend Gus the firefly. The Owl has a great idea to spell out their names in the sky using Gus's tail. After they spell out their first few words Gus finds out how much fun it is to spell words and begins to cause mischief by telling cars...more
I enjoyed reading this book to my children and I also remember it from my childhood which is always fun. The book was written in 1958 as an easy reader. It is a bit advanced as an easy reader with a lot of words on each page though. The story line was perfectly in-line with my 5-year-old son's interests. He is immensely interested in tricks. He was fascinated by the idea of a day set aside for playing pranks when April 1st came around this year and declared that every day should be "trickster da...more
What a strange story.
I like the beginning. Sam the owl is looking for someone to play with during a lonely night. He meets Gus the firefly, and teaches Gus to write in the sky with his firefly light. The story then takes a strange turn as Gus the firefly becomes rather mischievous with his new sky-writing talent. Gus flies all over the city causing trouble, and Sam chases him around trying to talk some sense into him.
An angry victim of Gus's practical jokes captures him in a jar, and heads out...more
I like the beginning. Sam the owl is looking for someone to play with during a lonely night. He meets Gus the firefly, and teaches Gus to write in the sky with his firefly light. The story then takes a strange turn as Gus the firefly becomes rather mischievous with his new sky-writing talent. Gus flies all over the city causing trouble, and Sam chases him around trying to talk some sense into him.
An angry victim of Gus's practical jokes captures him in a jar, and heads out...more
When I was four years old I wanted to read this book but could not read.
That spring my mother asked, "Want to take tennis lessons?" (We had a tennis court next door)
My answer was, " No. I want to learn to read."
My mother's dream of tennis stardom died that day. Fortunately for me my mother is the unselfish kind and sent me to a beginner's summer reading program and by the end of it I read my first book on my own (this one).
I know that people do not care about this story but I wanted to carve my...more
That spring my mother asked, "Want to take tennis lessons?" (We had a tennis court next door)
My answer was, " No. I want to learn to read."
My mother's dream of tennis stardom died that day. Fortunately for me my mother is the unselfish kind and sent me to a beginner's summer reading program and by the end of it I read my first book on my own (this one).
I know that people do not care about this story but I wanted to carve my...more
After all these years, there remains a certain special something about the literary works of P.D. Eastman, and nowhere are these intangibles more evident than in "Sam and the Firefly".
The brilliant light trails of Gus the firefly long ago indelibly burned their way into the lining of my memories, as I'm sure they have for most people to have read this book. Surely there are several fantasy elements to the story that might seem to stretch belief, but I think that this is a book that must simply...more
The brilliant light trails of Gus the firefly long ago indelibly burned their way into the lining of my memories, as I'm sure they have for most people to have read this book. Surely there are several fantasy elements to the story that might seem to stretch belief, but I think that this is a book that must simply...more
This book is one of my favorite books of all time, so much that I actually got the cover tattooed on my back and named my ferret after the firefly.
As a child I liked seeing Gus, the firefly, writing words in the sky and the mischief that it caused. As a young adult, I appreciated the message of right and wrong the story conveyed. Today I love that it can still make me smile despite having first read it over 30 years ago.
In my opinion this should be one of those must have books that every child...more
As a child I liked seeing Gus, the firefly, writing words in the sky and the mischief that it caused. As a young adult, I appreciated the message of right and wrong the story conveyed. Today I love that it can still make me smile despite having first read it over 30 years ago.
In my opinion this should be one of those must have books that every child...more
When I saw the cover of this book, I just had to borrow it from our local library. The adorable owl and humorous firefly were enchanting. Having read Are You My Mother? and other books by P.D. Eastman over and over again with our girls, I worried that the book would be a bit too young for our girls.
The story was a bit repetitive and I am not sure how much our girls enjoyed it, but we liked the muted nighttime illustrations and thought the silly firefly was a goof. It was a bit alarming that the...more
The story was a bit repetitive and I am not sure how much our girls enjoyed it, but we liked the muted nighttime illustrations and thought the silly firefly was a goof. It was a bit alarming that the...more
A favorite book from my childhood, Sam and the Firefly brings back nostalgic memories about a mischievious firefly and an owl who tries to get him to see the light (no pun intended). But, after lots of silly pranks that go hay-wire, Gus, the firefly actually saves the day! He's learned his lesson.
Used for "You Light Up My Night, Firefly" Storytime: June, 2011.
Used for "You Light Up My Night, Firefly" Storytime: June, 2011.
How cute is this book?! This is great for beginning readers, and frankly an elementary classroom as a read-aloud. It would be a great lead into a lesson on character development. The illustrations in this book include cute pictures as well as the words that are in the text as you read. This provides a great opportunity for the youngest readers to engage and explore text!
Science- Good for GPS: SKE1. Students will describe time patterns (such as day to night and night to day) and objects (such as...more
Science- Good for GPS: SKE1. Students will describe time patterns (such as day to night and night to day) and objects (such as...more
Finally, an early reader with an exciting story! Both my kids really liked this. The 7 year old could read it easily, and newly reading 6 year old for encouraged reading the firefly's words in the sky as well as the emphasized words like "stop now!". It bridged the early reader gap between level 1 and 3 well in that sense for us.
The text of this book isn't quite as smooth to read as Are You My Mother, but the illustrations are delightful and I love that this book includes characters demonstrating some virtues in a way small children can understand -- specifically, persistence, faithfulness to friends, repentance, and heroism.
Added to Emerson's permanent collection.
SAM and GUS. No accident that these main characters' names are simple, 3-letter words. This is really a spelling and letter book. Very cleverly disguised.
Sam--a lonely little owl--is so excited when he befriends Gus--a firefly down at the lake who can write words in the sky. But Gus becomes mischievous and begins to trick people with his signs in the sky. Sam and Gus are drawn really beautifully in this great beginning reader book. I love this series of...more
SAM and GUS. No accident that these main characters' names are simple, 3-letter words. This is really a spelling and letter book. Very cleverly disguised.
Sam--a lonely little owl--is so excited when he befriends Gus--a firefly down at the lake who can write words in the sky. But Gus becomes mischievous and begins to trick people with his signs in the sky. Sam and Gus are drawn really beautifully in this great beginning reader book. I love this series of...more
Sam comes out at night and wants to play. All the other animals are asleep. Sam met and became friends with a firefly named Gus. Gus plays naughty tricks on people. Will this ruin their friendship?
Good to use when teaching a lesson on nocturnal animals or friendship.
Good to use when teaching a lesson on nocturnal animals or friendship.
This was one of those books I adored as a child. I read it my kiddos when they were quite young, it must have been lost in the divorce. We haven't read it for a while, but it's a great read, especially for youngsters. Very cute and enjoyable.
This is a really fun book! All my kids enjoyed it!! Sam(the owl)and the firefly enjoy doing all kinds of antics during the night!! Until something bad happens!! A really cute book!I read it so many times that I almost had it memorized!!
2 1/2 stars. Not nearly as cute as other P.D. Eastman books. It teaches a good lesson about the difference between good jokes and bad jokes. But the lesson is not taught very creatively. Go enough.
I remember reading this story as a kid and just being fascinated by it. It's another book on the list for my son this summer. Wouldn't it be cool if fireflies could communicate? :-)
I love when I come across a classic book that I have forgotten about. This book by PD Eastman is a fun book for beginning readers. It also made a fun read aloud for my 4 year old.
This was one of my favorite books when I was in elementary school. I remember checking it out from the school library frequently when I was in 1st and 2nd grade.
PB 46: I have always loved this book, especially the illustrations. Bright colors against the dark night sky make this book interesting and unique.
What love about Sam and the Firefly is the easy story and easy reading. My 5 year old has mastered this book and we enjoy the story.
Cute story about a mischievous firefly who does bad things, but uses his talents to save someone at the end. Tate liked the ending.
One of John's favorites from his childhood. At bit too many words per page for a very young child's attention span.
This is the first book I have ever read, when I was a child. It still brings back such great memories!!
Sam, the owl, and Gus, the firefly, form a friendship and different words in the sky.
This was one of my first favorite books - still a winner to read aloud and by yourself.
Little scary book; another great read for halloween. I am such a scaredy cat.
A firefly is befriended by an owl who must try to keep him out of trouble.
PD Eastman is second only to Dr Seuss in this sort of writing/book
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Philip Dey "Phil" Eastman was an American screenwriter, children's author, and illustrator. As an author, he is known primarily as P. D. Eastman. A protégé of Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss), Eastman wrote many books for children, in his own distinct style under the Dr. Seuss brand of Random House, many of which were in the Beginner Books series.
From 1936 to 1941, Eastman worked at the story departmen...more
More about P.D. Eastman...
From 1936 to 1941, Eastman worked at the story departmen...more
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