Review: Sammy Spider's Big Book of Jewish Holidays

Sammy Spider's Big Book of Jewish Holidays

by Sylvia A. Rouss, illustrated by Katherine Janus Kahn

Kar-Ben Publishing (imprint of Lerner), 2025

Category: Picture Books

Reviewer: Ronda Einbinder

 

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In the long-running Sammy Spider series, Sammy Spider and his mother, Mrs. Spider, live secretly with Mr. and Mrs. Shapiro and their son Josh. Sammy is quite inquisitive and is fascinated by the many Jewish holidays the Shapiros celebrate. There are individual Sammy Spider books for most Jewish holidays, but this title combines a number of holidays, with short original stories and mostly original artwork.

 

The story begins with the Shapiros hanging up the Jewish calendar. Sammy also wants to hang a calendar, but Mrs. Spider tells him that spiders don’t hang calendars, spiders spin webs. The cute catchphrase  continues as the reader learns about each of the Jewish holidays: when Sammy asks to participate in a holiday, Mrs. Spider responds with “Silly little Sammy, Spiders don’t celebrate Rosh Hashanah, Spiders spin webs.” Sammy watches as Mr. Shapiro and Josh blow into a ram's horn. Sammy questions Mrs. Spider about the funny shaped horn and she tells him it’s called a shofar, blown in the synagogue when the Jewish holidays are coming. “Can I blow a shofar, too?” he asks. “Silly little Sammy, spiders don’t blow shofars, spiders spin webs.”

Bright, swirling collage art is used to illustrate Sammy, the Shapiro family, the music notes, apples, and holiday symbols. Each holiday ends with a description explaining what time of year the holiday falls and how Jewish families celebrate. The author breaks down each holiday in a way that allows the reader to go back and read the book before a particular holiday or read it in one sitting. Holidays included are: Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Simchat Torah, Hanukkah, Tu B'Shevat, Purim, Passover, and Shavuot.

This is the story of Jewish holidays celebrated throughout the year by Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox Jews, explaining briefly the backstory of each of the holidays. The story is written to teach Jewish children about Jewish holidays, but non-Jewish children can read the book with an adult to understand a religion different than their own. The author explains each holiday in a way that children can understand. 

 

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Reviewer Ronda Einbinder is a teacher/writer currently working on a young adult novel and picture books. She is a reviewer for Goodreadswithronna and a member of SCBWI and 12x12. She is also a 500-Hour Registered Yoga Instructor. She enjoys writing in her yard in the hills of Pasadena, CA listening to the birds chirp, with her constant companion and very handsome mutt rescue by her side.