Sammy Spider's First Tu B'Shevat [Paperback]

Sylvia Rouss (Author), Katherine Janus Kahn (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

Sammy watches as the seasons pass and trees blossom, bear fruit, and shed their leaves. When Tu B'Shevat arrives, his spinning skills provide a gift for his favorite tree.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

reS-Gr 2-A disappointing addition to the series about a little spider learning about the Jewish holidays by celebrating with his human neighbors. Sammy watches the Shapiros plant a tree in early spring. The year passes as the tree grows and Sammy learns about the seasons as it flowers in the summer and its leaves turn in the fall. Tu B'Shevat is not actually mentioned as the New Year for trees until three pages from the end, when the Shapiros celebrate with nuts and dried fruit and the planting of a sapling. It's not clear whether or not the tree at the beginning of the book was also planted on Tu B'Shevat. The paper-cut illustrations in vivid colors show the changing tree and the family caring for their yard. As a book about seasons, Tu B'Shevat is marginally effective. As an explanation and celebration of Judaism's commitment to growing things, it falls flat. Try Leslie Kimmelman's Dance, Sing, Remember: A Celebration of Jewish Holidays (HarperCollins, 2000) for a more detailed and pertinent explanation of the holiday.

Martha Link, Louisville Free Public Library, KY

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Kar-Ben Publishing (November 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580130658
• ISBN-13: 978-1580130653
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 8.4 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #319,428 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #25 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Holidays & Festivals > Religious
  • #30 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Religions > Fiction > Jewish
  • #45 in Books > Children's Books > Holidays & Celebrations > Religious

More About the Author

Sylvia Rouss is the award-winning author and early childhood educator who created the popular Sammy Spider and The Littlest books.


Even with her success as an author, Sylvia has not given up what she loves most, teaching. She is currently a preschool teacher in Los Angeles, and says that she "is inspired by the children in my classroom".


Sylvia also received awards as an educator and she conducts seminars for parents and teachers.


Sylvia is a featured author and lecturer at book fairs throughout the United States and Israel.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Around the seasons, May 24, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Sammy Spider's First Tu B'Shevat (Paperback)

Sammy Spider's lesson this time is on the seasons. He sees how the seasons affect the trees. Then in the end they celebrate Tu B'Shvat.

As usual, the pictures are colorful and add to the flavor of the story. But unlike the usual Sammy Spider fare, this book talks less about the holiday rituals (of which there are very few) and more about the world around Sammy that eventually leads to an appreciation of the holiday.

Missing are the funny ways Sammy gets caught while trying to get in the holiday spirit; but you feel Sammy grow up as the year passes and he learns about trees and what makes them grow and how they survive the seasons.

3.0 out of 5 stars A Book of Seasons, March 4, 2006

By 

Joshua Koppel (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sammy Spider's First Tu B'Shevat (Paperback)

I don't know how the un-Jewish concept of a spider family became the mechanism for a series of books about Jewish holidays but my kids and their friends love them. This time Sammy learns about the holiday of Tu B'Shevat, the New Year of the trees.

In these books Sammy observes the human family and asks his mother what they are doing. The mother always seems to have the answer even if it doesn't concern spiders (they just spin webs). This time we watch the progression of the seasons and see some of the signs of those seasons. Each season also has a two-page picture showing the house and yard as it appears during each season. These act as a very good way of teaching children how to recognize the differences.

Because this is a book of seasons the story spans slightly more than a full year (encompassing two Tu B'Shevat celebrations). I didn't feel that the book did a good enough job explaining the holiday or its importance to Judaism but it seems to work for my kids (six and under).

4.0 out of 5 stars More about the seasons trhan the holiday, but nice, March 18, 2005

By 

Rabbi Yonassan Gershom (Minnesota, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Sammy Spider's First Tu B'Shevat (Paperback)

This book in the Sammy Spider Jewish holiday series for small children (ages 4-6) is really more about the changes of the seasons than the festival of Tu B'Shevat itself, although the festival is mentioned. But since there really aren't too many other rituals associated with this holiday, the focus on tree-planting is appropriate. Sammy Spider watches his human neighbors, the Shapiros, celebrate with fruit and nuts (eating (a tradition for this holiday) and by planting a sapling (also traditional). The colorful paper-cut illustrations the follow the Tree through the seasons, showing the leaves change color, etc., as the Shapiros care for their yard. As a secular presentation of nature with a Jewsih twist, it's a nice book.