Sam and the Firefly

Before I start on my book I want to make an observation. You can always tell when a man is in charge of something. Men love to ''upgrade". They can never leave well enough alone. They think newer is better. 
I say this because this morning, when I logged into my blog, I found a "new, improved" blogging site designed to make it easier and more "streamlined."  End result?  I can't find a damn thing.
Same thing with Facebook and their new "timeline" Obviously whoever did the timeline did it with the idea that you were going to waste a lot more time searching for things than you did before.
OK, enough of that, I'm off my soapbox for today. On to the book!
This week's book is another oldie but goodie.  When I was a little girl we had this book. It was probably my brothers' book, <by the way, happy birthday brothers!> because they were older than I and the book was pretty beat up when I started reading it. Last week when I was perusing the bookstore looking for a gift, I came across it, and even though all my children are chronologically adults now, I couldn't help but buy it.
"Sam and the Firefly" is a story about an owl named Sam.  He wakes up one night and finds that everyone else has gone to sleep.  Sam wants someone to play with, but he can't find anyone. Suddenly he is hit over the head by a light and a voice says "Boo!". 
A firefly named Gus has introduced himself to Sam. Sam has a new friend! 
But what a friend. Gus is a smart firefly. He can write a lot of different words with his firefly light. Amazingly the light stays on like neon sign. At first Sam is impressed but things quickly go south as Gus begins to cause mischief.
First Gus changes traffic patterns, then he causes a riot at the movie theatre. But when Gus ruins business at the hot dog stand by crossing out "hot" and writing "cold" instead, he runs into trouble.
The hot dog man catches Gus and puts him in a glass jar. He drives off with Gus, intending to get rid of him but before he can do it, the hot dog man's truck stalls on the railroad track. Gus is trapped and a train is coming. Can Sam find a way to save both his new friend and the truck?
P.D. Eastman wrote this book.  He is also the same writer who wrote "Go Dog Go" and some other excellent children's stories. In addition to his wonderful children's books, P.D. Eastman also worked on Disney films and wrote some of the Mr. Magoo cartoons.
"Sam and the Firefly" is a wonderful story. The illustrations might be somewhat off putting. While the pictures themselves are wonderfully drawn, the colors are kind of a blueish green with the yellow of the firefly showing through like a glow in the dark light show. But it works for the story. How could you show up Gus' light otherwise?
With the hot summer nights coming "Sam and the Firefly" is definitely a book you'll enjoy reading with your little ones. Try it with a campfire and s'mores. You can chase all Gus' friends and relatives afterwards!