A young boy climbs upon his grandfather’s bed and snuggles in next to him. He eagerly awaits grandpa telling 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 from grandpa to child. She captures the excitement and wonderment of the young boy who so lovingly admires his aging grandfather.

The illustrations are wonderful and span every page. They use soft watercolor with subtle hues to capture the colors of the salty sea, arctic ice floes and the sunny tropical shores Samson and his crew endured.

I found this book to be a good “read aloud” to my son. The timeline provided in the back of the book was of great help in keeping the order of events clear and was a useful tool for sparking discussion. There are also resources provided in the back of the book, including websites, where more information on the Samson can be researched.

The Story of Samson is all-in-all a charming story with well-supported facts.

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