Sammy Spider's First Simchat Torah

by Sylvia A. Rouss

Overview

Sammy Spider crawls down his web to inspect the candy apple Josh has attached to his Simchat Torah flag. When Josh leaves for synagogue, he doesn’t notice the spider stuck to his apple! Atop Josh’s flag, Sammy joins the Simchat Torah parade, dances with the Torah, and learns about this very special holiday in the Jewish year. Young readers will learn how Simchat Torah is celebrated, as Jews finish reading their “favorite book” the Torah, and start all over again, just as Josh loves to do with his own books! A wonderful new addition to the Sammy Spider series from the team of Sylvia A. Rouss and Katherine Janus Kahn.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781512499483
Publisher:	Lerner Publishing Group
Publication date:	08/01/2010
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	7 MB
Age Range:	3 - 8 Years

About the Author

Sylvia A. Rouss is an award-winning author and early childhood educator, and the creator of the popular Sammy Spider series, celebrating its 25th anniversary with over 600,000 Sammy Spider books sold. She lives in California.

Katherine Janus Kahn studied Fine Arts at the Bezalel School in Jerusalem and at the University of Iowa. She has illustrated many children's books including Kar-Ben's popular Sammy Spider series. She lives in Wheaton, Maryland.

Editorial Reviews

Sammy Spider, that curious arachnid who refuses to just spin webs, follows his boy companion Josh to a Simchat Torah service when he gets himself stuck on a syrupy candy apple atop a small Jewish flag. As in previous outings, the inquisitive spiderling learns about this important Jewish fall holiday that joyously marks the year-long completion of the reading of the Torah through parade, singing and dancing. Just as Josh likes to read his favorite book over and over again, the Jewish people like to read the Torah, their favorite story, again and again. Signature cut-paper collage art employs some lovely colors and textures, but Kahn's choice of blank blue and brown paper eyes is disconcerting, and the all-too-familiar question-and-answer pattern of this author/illustrator duo make this entry in their series feel stale. Still, there are few enough choices available on this particular celebration to allow purchasers to be too choosy. A candy-apple recipe completes the formulaic, if well-meaning, tale. (Picture book. 3-6)

From the Publisher

Within the first month of the Jewish calendar year, there are four holidays that follow closely on one another. Simchat Torah is the last of these, following immediately after Succhot. Simchat Torah is a joyful holiday in which the reading of the Torah ends for one year and goes back to the beginning. Sammy Spider is a well-known character to Jewish pre-schoolers as he has eavesdropped on all of Josh Shapiro's holiday celebrations in a series of colorfully illustrated books. Although Sammy cannot read the books Josh's parents share with him, he can listen (along with your children) to Mr. Shapiro's explanation of the holiday and hope, along with Josh, that Mr. Shapiro will read the book again. The highly stylized collage-like illustrations manage to convey the joy and energy of the Simchat Torah parade. Parents hold torah scrolls and children carry small Israeli flags topped by candied apples, a symbol of the sweetness of torah learning. The candied apple is Sammy's downfall. Curious Sammy gets stuck in the candy and rides, unnoticed, through the Simchat Torah celebration. When Sammy gets home, his sticky feet damage his mother's web. She clucks in a maternal way and repairs the damage. Both arachnid and human parents are loving and the story of the spider celebrating the Jewish holiday will entertain youngsters. A good choice for collections looking to expand their books relating to Jewish holidays. Reviewer: Lois Rubin Gross

Children's Literature - Lois Rubin Gross

Sammy Spider, that curious arachnid who refuses to just spin webs, follows his boy companion Josh to a Simchat Torah service when he gets himself stuck on a syrupy candy apple atop a small Jewish flag. As in previous outings, the inquisitive spiderling learns about this important Jewish fall holiday that joyously marks the year-long completion of the reading of the Torah through parade, singing and dancing. Just as Josh likes to read his favorite book over and over again, the Jewish people like to read the Torah, their favorite story, again and again. Signature cut-paper collage art employs some lovely colors and textures, but Kahn's choice of blank blue and brown paper eyes is disconcerting, and the all-too-familiar question-and-answer pattern of this author/illustrator duo make this entry in their series feel stale. Still, there are few enough choices available on this particular celebration to allow purchasers to be too choosy. A candy-apple recipe completes the formulaic, if well-meaning, tale. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews