The Story of the Samson

by Kathleen Benner Duble

Sam and his grandpa relive the Samson's adventures on the high seas. Kathleen Benner Duble uses actual events to weave a tale about the Samson and its many voyages, from witnessing the Titanic's demise to the rescue of Shakleton's men to an appearance at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair.

48 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Kathleen Benner Duble had sixteen car accidents before she was twenty-one. Being an at-home writer keeps her from hitting the road (or anyone else)! She is the author of eight books for children. Kathleen loves digging for unique historical fiction plotlines and encouraging students and lovers of books to look for great stories right in their own backyard!

Reviews

[Hannah Shaffer]

This is the story about the ship that rescued Earnest Shackleton on South Georgia Island. It’s a fascinating story with photograph of the real ship in the back. It reads in conversation style between a grandfather and grandson, which I felt was too distracting from the actual story.

[Natalie]

A young boy climbs upon his grandfather’s bed and snuggles in next to him. He eagerly awaits grandpa to tell him the story that he has heard many times before, but can never get enough of. It is the story of grandpa’s house, a house that is made from pieces of a ship that grandpa worked on during his sailing days. The ship is named Samson.

Samson is a one hundred forty-nine foot schooner whose rich historical past spans over sixty-five years. Its exploits include encounters with the Titanic, the polar explorer Admiral Byrd and the Chicago World’s Fair. Each escapade encapsulates an emotion for grandpa that does not go undetected by his young grandson.

In true historical fiction style, this book is filled with loads of information for the reader.
The author, Kathleen Benner Duble, weaves the tale back and forth from Samson’s seal-trapping history to the present retelling of the story between grandpa and child. She captures the excitement and wonderment of the young boy who so lovingly admires his aging grandfather.

This review was written for Armchair Interviews at www.armchairinterviews.com