Sammy Spider's First Sukkot

Sammy Spider

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

Sammy Spider learns about the festival of Sukkot by watching the Shapiro family build their sukkah.

Genres: Jewish, Picture Books

32 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2004

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sammy Spider, that curious little arachnid who lived with his mother in the home of the human Shapiro family, and whose adventures began in 1993 with Sammy Spider's First Hanukkah , returns in this engaging Sukkot picture-book. Once again observing the Shapiros, Sammy learns about the Jewish harvest festival, watching as the humans build and use their sukkah, a temporary outdoor hut meant to represent the structures used by ancient farmers at this time of year. Charmed by this lovely building, Sammy convinces his mother to spend the night under the stars, hanging from a web they have woven from the sukkah's roof...

The second story about Sammy Spider I have read, following upon Sammy Spider's First Rosh Hashanah , Sammy Spider's First Sukkot offers an engaging look at how the eponymous festival is observed. It pairs a simple but engaging story from author Sylvia A. Rouss with appealing collage-style artwork from illustrator Katherine Janus Kahn. Although this is not a book to use to explain the meaning and history of Sukkot, but rather one which celebrates the practices associated with the festival, it does describe the shaking of the lulav, and how this indicates that the presence of God is all around us, in every direction. I appreciated that fact, and I also enjoyed the bright, autumnal colors of the artwork. Recommended to picture-book readers looking for Sukkot stories, and to fans of Sammy Spider.

[Josie Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found it interesting that the author chose to incorporate directional words while also including information about the Jewish holiday, Sukkot. I felt like there was too much going on with the storyline for the author to also be focusing on directional words. But I did enjoy learning about the Jewish culture. I think this book would be good for students in 2nd grade because there aren't too many difficult words in the book and the pictures tell a lot of the story. I'm not sure if I would necessarily use this book in my classroom because I thought it was a little overwhelming focusing on jewish culture, directional words, and the bright illustrations.

[Ashley Bartholomew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book is appropriate for second graders. This story is about how a spider observes a family creating a Sukkot. In my classroom, I could use this book to teach my students something about Jewish culture. Something that could be problematic is that it does not explain why they are doing what they do.

[K Morlando · Rating 5 out of 5]

a great resource for children learning about Sukkot!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bit wordy for my students, but I think four year olds or five year olds would do better with it. And we liked looking at the sukkah!

[Julie Ditton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sammy the Spider lives in the home of an observant Jewish family and is constantly curious about their holiday celebrations. When my children were little, they were enchanted by Sammy Spiders First Hanukkah. We read it frequently throughout the years and I anxiously await sharing it with my grandson. In this book Sammy's mother explains the various customs of Sukkot and Sammy has fun exploring the sukkah. The book does a great job of explaining some of the customs and is perfect for young children and also for multicultural lessons in the classroom. This book does not delve into the background of the holiday but could be paired with one of the many picture books that does. Katherine Janus Kahn has a unique art style reminiscent of torn paper collage with bright colors that attract the eye. My only criticism of the book is that it also tries to teach directions at the same time. I feel that that lesson belongs in a book for younger children and the book would be better off without mixed focus.