Sammy Spider’s Tu B’Shevat, by Sylvia A. Rouss

Sammy isn’t shouting through this book as he did through his First Purim, but then noise is not part of the Tu B’Shvat holiday, the Jewish Arbor Day. It is a quiet, hopeful holiday, celebrated by planting trees and eating fruit and nuts that grow on trees in Israel. Sammy spots Josh, “his” family’s son, putting in a sapling and true to form, also wants to plant. “Silly spider,” chides his mother, “Spiders don’t plant, or put out buds, or drink nectar like a bee, or climb like a squirrel…they spin webs.” So Sammy does just that at the end of this lovely story about the cycle of seasons of a tree¾he spins a web to keep the young tree warm through the cold winter. The illustrations are very satisfying collages created from handmade papers that beautifully evoke the flavors of the seasons. Paperback, 32 pages, isbn 9781580130653