What do you think?
Rate this book
Sam
Sam is too small to share many things with his family but mother finds a job in the kitchen for which he is just right.
Hardcover
First published April 29, 1992
14 people want to read
About the author
Ann Herbert Scott
20 books8 followersAnn Herbert Scott describes herself as "a transplanted Easterner who has come to love the wide skies and far mountain ranges of the West." She is the author of SAM, ON MOTHER'S LAP, and several other picture books. She lives Benicia, California.
Ann Herbert Scott was born in Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania, and grew up writing. Her first children's book, co-authored with a friend and never published, was written at the age of 13. Many honors and children's books followed with a hiatus to marry and raise a family. Today, Scott is one of America's foremost authors of children's literature. She deftly uses her B.A. in English (University of Pennsylvania) and M.A. in Social Ethics (Yale University) to bring both credibility and wonder to her work. Many of her books deal with western, ethnic, and rural themes.
Scott moved to Reno in 1961, when she married William Taussig Scott (1916-1999), a physics professor at the University of Nevada, Reno. Her work as an "enumerator" in the agricultural census of 1964 eventually led to her writing a history of the U. S. census, with the cooperation of the Bureau of the Census. Her novel Sam was an American Library Association Notable Book for 1967. Another of her books, On Mother's Lap, was read by Captain Kangaroo on his television program as part of the national Reading is Fundamental literacy initiative. In 1996, the paperback edition of Cowboy Country was awarded the Parents' Choice Silver Honor. Scott is active in the Northern Nevada arts community and is the co-founder of the Annual Art of the Children's Book Festival. She and her husband were co-founders of Sierra Interfaith Action for Peace, a non-profit public benefit corporation in Washoe County, Nevada.
Ann Herbert Scott was born in Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania, and grew up writing. Her first children's book, co-authored with a friend and never published, was written at the age of 13. Many honors and children's books followed with a hiatus to marry and raise a family. Today, Scott is one of America's foremost authors of children's literature. She deftly uses her B.A. in English (University of Pennsylvania) and M.A. in Social Ethics (Yale University) to bring both credibility and wonder to her work. Many of her books deal with western, ethnic, and rural themes.
Scott moved to Reno in 1961, when she married William Taussig Scott (1916-1999), a physics professor at the University of Nevada, Reno. Her work as an "enumerator" in the agricultural census of 1964 eventually led to her writing a history of the U. S. census, with the cooperation of the Bureau of the Census. Her novel Sam was an American Library Association Notable Book for 1967. Another of her books, On Mother's Lap, was read by Captain Kangaroo on his television program as part of the national Reading is Fundamental literacy initiative. In 1996, the paperback edition of Cowboy Country was awarded the Parents' Choice Silver Honor. Scott is active in the Northern Nevada arts community and is the co-founder of the Annual Art of the Children's Book Festival. She and her husband were co-founders of Sierra Interfaith Action for Peace, a non-profit public benefit corporation in Washoe County, Nevada.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 2, 2025
It sucks to be a kid ... especially the youngest.
This 1967 classic was one of the many, many books of my childhood. Books made much better friends than people. I can't remember if I was given a copy or had to read it at school. I did remember that I identified with Sam, seeing as I was the youngest kid in the house.
However, I was allowed to play with the oldest typewriter in the house, so that part of the story got me confused, even though it was the 1970s and we didn't even have an electric typewriter yet.
The highly realistic art by Simeon Shimin just transforms the story to a whole new level of awesome. The only thing I see now at 55 that I didn't see when I was 5 (or whenever I read this) was that Sam's Dad bears a striking resemblance to MLK.
You can enjoy this at the Internet Archive.
This 1967 classic was one of the many, many books of my childhood. Books made much better friends than people. I can't remember if I was given a copy or had to read it at school. I did remember that I identified with Sam, seeing as I was the youngest kid in the house.
However, I was allowed to play with the oldest typewriter in the house, so that part of the story got me confused, even though it was the 1970s and we didn't even have an electric typewriter yet.
The highly realistic art by Simeon Shimin just transforms the story to a whole new level of awesome. The only thing I see now at 55 that I didn't see when I was 5 (or whenever I read this) was that Sam's Dad bears a striking resemblance to MLK.
You can enjoy this at the Internet Archive.
December 26, 2015
I thought the "Sam" story was horrible. Try publishing a "children's story" like that today. I think the author simply doesn't like children. Shows that Americans back in 1967 were still a work in progress. I first saw the book read on Episode 9 of the first season of "Sesame Street" when it aired on TV in November 1969. That story also caused me to bawl my eyes out because I didn't like the way that mean family was treating him. Definitely not appropriate for children. This is how kids grow up to become resentful to the world and become criminals in adulthood. I'm amazed that book has not been pulled from bookshelves.
November 14, 2011
This is a story about a little boy who goes to every member of his famly wanting to play. His mother says he is too little to help in the kitchen, his brother and sister do not want him ruining their things, and his father does not want him to break his typewritter. Sam breaks down and cries, and his family realizes how he feels and his mother lets him make a tart with her in the kitchen. I believe that everyone who is the little sibling, or just anyone really, can relate to this story, about feeling left out because everyone is older or too busy to pay attention to him.
February 22, 2016
This book was about a little boy who was the wrong size and wrong age for every activity. He was too little to help his mother cut the apples for the pie, and too small to read the library book with his brother. Sam got very frustrated and sad as the day went on. At the end of the story, Sam finally got to help out by making his own personal raspberry tart. I could use this book in the classroom by showing that every person has something to contribute. No matter how old or how young, every individual is important.
August 5, 2014
This book was so sweet and had a family of color in it. Yay for families of color and yay for problem-solving families who find a way for the protagonist, Sam, to help out. Helping out is a big deal for the small person visiting me. We'll see if this is a hit with her.
February 22, 2016
Sam is a little boy who is bored at home. He goes to his mother, his brother, his sister, and his father to try to find something to do and they all scold him for messing things up. This could be used in my classroom to show that we need to have patience with others.
November 28, 2016
It's hard for little children when they hear "no" so often from adults while they are just trying to figure out the world around them. We see it as making sure things are safe, but the experience can be very emotionally overwhelming for them. This story really resonated for me and my daughter.
April 19, 2017
American Library Association Notable Children's Book (1967), "Sam", is a tender story about a boy who wants to play. Sam, the little boy, cannot play with his brother (who is reading for school), his sister (she is playing with her dolls), his mother (who is cooking in the kitchen), and his father (who is writing for work). Though he attempts to join his family in their own activities, they all pretty much tell him to go away. And then Sam cries. His family finally comes around him together soothingly, and they find the perfect thing for him to do. Ann Herbert Scott's story is written in a simple yet very moving style. The minimalist but detailed and skillful sketch illustrations are evocative, making the reader become immersed in and thoughtful of this excellent story about childhood.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews