Sammy and His Shepherd: Seeing Jesus in Psalm 23

Sammy is a young sheep who loves his shepherd and is loved in return. When he encounters a lonely sheep outside of his flock who has no name and a careless shepherd, Sammy befriends her. Sammy's new friend is eventually purchased from her careless shepherd by Sammy's watchful shepherd and named Precious. Sammy and Precious follow their shepherd to the high places and learn life lessons as they go. Ultimately, Precious comes to learn that she can trust her shepherd because his love is never-ending.

The story of Sammy and His Shepherd parallels Psalm 23 of the Bible. Psalm 23 is perhaps one of the most well-known chapters of the Bible and it is certainly worth teaching to children. Each chapter of Precious and Sammy's story is titled with a phrase from the Psalm and deals with the theme of that phrase. There is a “Talk About It” section at the end of the book which can help the parent and child delve deeper into each theme presented. This section includes additional Bible verses, questions to talk about and suggestions of things to do. This practical application section reinforces the simple, truthful teachings set forth in the story.

The illustrations in this book were beautiful. However, I wished there had been more of them. There was basically one illustrated page per chapter. At times this allowed for there to be two pages that were just straight text. Other than that, it is a great childrens book that has the potential to teach Biblical lessons and encourage parent-child devotional time. I recommend this book for children ages 4 to 9.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Reformation Trust Publishing. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."