Samson’s Tail by Mercy Hansen Mize

Illustrated by Rachel Novel

Our Thoughts:

What We Loved: This story focused on the love that can blossom between an animal and a caretaker. I loved how Mercy Mize was able to write those feelings from both the perspective of the dog as well as the caretaker. My daughter loved the illustrations, mentioning it several times.

How We Felt: I thought this was a great book to show support for a program that many may not know about. My daughter had a lot of questions about it, and it was great that this book sparked that conversation. She was also so excited to discover a photo of the real Samson in the back of the book, as she loves a non-fiction story with real pictures!

To Read or Not To Read: This is a great book for children to read. It shows a wonderful program that supports animals and a portion of the proceeds go to DAWGS Prison Program

What’s This Book About Anyway?

Samson is taken from an animal shelter and is being brought to a prison. He’s nervous and scared. He is introduced to Trevor, his new caretaker. Trevor and Samson begin to know each other and then start animal training. Samson learns to sit and stay and so many other commands. He begins to understand that he can be loved and he looks forward to the day he gets a new family and his forever home. Trevor is also learning and growing during this time. He realizes he has a passion for training animals and loves what he is doing. Together, Trevor and Samson get Samson ready for that big day when his forever family will arrive.