Samantha Childs, J.D. '05

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Samantha Childs, J.D. '05 has won a Christopher Award for “Henri and the Magnificent Snort,” (ages 6 and up, Sea Lavender Publishing). It is one of 12 books for adults and young people as the Christopher Awards program marks its 75th year.

When a lovable French bulldog gets bullied in doggie daycare because of his loud snort, he learns to celebrate his uniqueness and shares a welcoming message of kindness and respect. According to the website, the book was inspired by the author’s childhood experiences of being bullied when starting a new middle school. This theme is interwoven within the book with the true story and lovable characteristics of Henri the Frenchie, including his journey moving from New York City to Southern California.

Childs lives, writes and daydreams by the Pacific Ocean. She earned her B.A. with honors in literature from Claremont McKenna College, her J.D. from UCLA School of Law, her M.F.A. in nonfiction writing from Columbia University, and she studied Shakespeare at St. Catherine’s College, Oxford University. As a child she dreamed of becoming a children’s book writer and, following in her beloved Grandma Peggy’s footsteps, she has now written her first—the Christopher Award-winning book. Childs loves animals, nature, traveling, writing, art, dancing, photography, and anything creative and imaginative.

Christopher Awards were also given to creators of 11 TV/Cable shows and feature films.
The Awards celebrate authors, and illustrators as well as writers, producers and directors whose work “affirms the highest values of the human spirit” and reflects the Christopher motto, “It’s better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.”