cover image Sammy Spider’s First Taste of Hanukkah

Sammy Spider’s First Taste of Hanukkah

Sylvia A. Rouss and Genene Levy Turndorf, illus. by Katherine Janus Kahn. Kar-Ben, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-4677-5237-4

Sammy is now in his second decade as an unlikely but winsome Jewish educator, and since the series kicked off in 1993 with a Hanukkah title, a holiday-themed cookbook is long overdue. Turndorf, who teaches cooking to children, has developed 17 easy recipes that kids can whip up with adult supervision, including snacks (“Maccabee Munch”), main courses (“Count to Eight Shishkebab”), and sweets (“Melt in Your Mouth Menorahs”); Sammy helpfully adds a spider web emblazoned with M, D, or P (for meat, dairy, and pareve) to each recipe for families who keep kosher. Kahn’s bright, impressionistic watercolor collages feel as fresh and expressive as ever—in fact, they’re particularly well suited to the pursuit of cooking and collective noshing. Ages 2–8. (Sept.)