Sam Goes to School

by Mary Labatt, Marisol Sarrazin (Illustrator)

Always in search of adventure, Sam sneaks onto a school bus. Discovered by a couple of schoolkids, they smuggle the puppy into their classroom, where they hope to keep her hidden. Never one to miss out on all the fun, however, Sam is soon causing mayhem, chewing books and walking over students' wet paintings.This Level 1 first reader contains short stories, simple sentences, easy vocabulary, simple visual clues and lots of repetition.

Genres: Picture Books, School, Childrens, Dogs

32 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2004

About the author

Mary Labatt is an award-winning editor and a writer. A graduate of York University, Mary has published many educational briefs, position papers and articles on reading, the effects of poverty on learning, drug awareness, language arts, violence, the needs of adolescents and special education. Mary was the founding editor of the FWTAO Newsletter, a magazine for women teachers, that she edited for 14 years. She is also the author of a history of women teachers in Ontario, called Always a Journey. Mary has been honored for her contribution to education with the prestigious Greer award and has been made a Fellow of the Ontario Teachers’ Federation.

In addition to freelance editing, Mary teaches a week-long course every summer on how to write for children. Now that her family is older, Mary devotes the rest of her time to writing for children and raising dogs. She breeds and raises champion rough collies and Welsh Springer Spaniels, which were imported from Wales. People who read Mary’s children’s books will readily see that she loves dogs, so it is natural that she and her family live on a farm and raise dogs. In the picture Mary is shown with two of her collie mothers, Annabel and Chloe. Mary has said she is never happier than when little fat puppies are running all over the yard.

Mary’s Sam books were based on a real dog. Sam was Mary’s very eccentric, very nosy Old English Sheepdog. Sam used to stare to get her own way and she was insatiably curious. Mary took the idea and created Sam, the dog detective. If you haven’t read the Sam novels, you can meet Sam, the dog detective, in a new series of graphic novels called the Sam and Friends mysteries.

Mary lives on farm in Clear Creek, Ontario, with her husband, Larry, three dogs and two of their three children. Their other daughter just got married, so there will be room now for another dog!

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tired of seeing all the kids head out on the big, yellow bus, Sam decides to join everyone on their morning ritual. Little does she know, but Sam finds herself on the bus and is snuck into school by two children. Watching all the fun that is to be had, Sam cannot help herself and gets into the middle of the action. It is only when the teacher discovers her that Sam knows there is trouble brewing. I tried the 'call and response' technique of reading with Neo, which seemed to work out decently. However, we are still in the early stages and books take a lot longer.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

AR 1.7

[Jessica Lewers]

This is a funny picture book about kids taking a dog to school and trying to hide the dog while the dog wants to play.
Age level: 5-6 years
Lexile level: 310L

[Myrza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Labatt, M. (2004). Sam Goes to School. Tonawanda, NY: Kids Can Press Ltd. What an adventure for this curious dog. The dog looks outside his window and gets curious after seeing the kids going on the school bus. The adorable little dog makes it to the bus. With help from the students on the bus the dog makes it to the school, where the dog experiences many fun school activities. This was a good way to discuss some of the fun activities that happen in a school setting, even if it was from a dog’s perspective.