Sammy Spider's First Bar Mitzvah

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

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.

32 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2016

Reviews

[Allyson Goose · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. My kids (ages 4 and 7) think Sammy Spider is hilarious. I’m not a huge fan of the illustration style, but it is colorful and fun. I also wish there had been more people of color shown in the synagogue.

This book taught us a lot about bar mitzvahs. My kids already knew more than many kids about Judaism, but there was a still a lot of new things to learn since they haven’t been to synagogue very often. I think this book might not be the best first introduction to a bar mitzvah for kids who know nothing about Judaism. It was a great conversation starter, though, for my family.

[Kyrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book about Sammy hitching a ride with the Shapiro's and going to Josh's cousin's bar mitzvah. Glad he made it back home safely.

[Lynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5

[Joey Gremillion · Rating 1 out of 5]

The story is secondary to the beautiful illustrations.