Sammy Spider's First Bar Mitzvah

by Sylvia A. Rouss, Katherine Janus Kahn (Illustrator)

Overview

Josh's cousin Ben is having his bar mitzvah, and Sammy accidentally ends up coming along! He gets an up-close view of the Torah readings, the blessings . . . and one tradition that gets this silly little spider into even more trouble than usual.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781512493344
Publisher:	Lerner Publishing Group
Publication date:	08/01/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	42 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 9 Years

About the Author

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

"Everyone's favorite little spider is back with a new adventure and a new topic with which to educate young readers and listeners about Jewish life and culture. This latest escapade lands him at Josh's cousin's bar mitzvah where he watches the proceedings with great interest. He learns, as does the reader, about the synagogue rituals, both religious, such as the Torah reading, and fun, such as tossing candy in the direction of the bar mitzvah celebrant. As many very young children have never seen a bar mitzvah up close, this is a good topic for the age group. As usual, Sammy flirts with danger but is saved before disaster strikes and he returns at the end to his mother and his web to prepare (we hope) for further adventures.

This is the seventeenth book in the by now iconic series featuring endearing Sammy, his wise mother and the traditional Shapiro family. Katherine Janus Kahn's bright, bold, cheery pictures evoke smiles and combine with Sylvia Rouss' clever plots and clear to-the-point story-telling to meld into excellent picture book unity. The reader knows what to expect, can chant familiar lines, and is never disappointed but always comes away learning something new.

Recommended for ages 5 – 8."—Jewish Book Council

From the Publisher

05/01/2017
K-Gr 3—Sammy, the cute, curious spider in this long-running series, has celebrated all of the Jewish holidays, gone to school with Josh Shapiro, learned about Jewish values, and traveled to Israel. In this installment, he sneaks into Mr. Shapiro's tallit bag (the small, zippered velvet bag he uses to carry his prayer shawl and kippah to synagogue) to attend Josh's cousin Ben's bar mitzvah. When the Shapiros arrive at the synagogue, Sammy crawls out of the bag and into a large bowl of candy just as Mr. Shapiro grabs a handful. Sammy clings to a piece of candy in Mr. Shapiro's pocket and watches the bar mitzvah boy receive his own prayer shawl, open the ark, and chant from the Torah. At the conclusion of the service, everyone throws the candy at Ben so that he will have "a sweet life filled with Torah and good deeds." Sammy flies through the air with the candy and luckily is picked up by Josh and safely (and miraculously!) returned home to Mrs. Spider. The bright cut-paper illustrations, typical of the series, help to depict a contemporary Jewish synagogue during this important life cycle event. A brief paragraph with additional information is appended. VERDICT Schools and libraries where the Sammy Spider books are popular will welcome this latest addition, which could also be helpful in preparing a young child who is attending a bar or bat mitzvah ceremony for the first time.—Rachel Kamin, North Suburban Synagogue Beth El, Highland Park, IL

School Library Journal