Geared toward children ages 3 to 8, the Sammy Spider books follow a spider's adventures learning about Judaism from a family called the Shapiros. There are more than 30 books in the series, teaching children about holidays such as Passover, Rosh Hashana and others. According to Rouss, a Los Angeles-based preschool teacher, Sammy is an outsider who isn't Jewish but wants to celebrate the holidays. In an interview with Linda K. Wertheimer, Rouss explains that Sammy "wants to be Jewish so badly . . . the kids would develop an appreciation of what it means to be Jewish."
In conjunction with "Sammy Spider's First Hanukkah," Rouss suggests such activities as writing numbers one to eight on eight paper plates and asking children to place the correct number of plastic dreidels (traditional Jewish spinning tops associated with Hanukkah) on each plate. Another activity is to place candles in a Hanukkah menorah and asking children to tell Sammy how many candles they see; add and subtract candles so the number keeps changing.
This book follows Sammy's visit to Israel, and an activity to help children understand his experience is to play them some Israeli music, which Sammy experiences in the book. Another activity is to bring some Israeli food mentioned in the story, such as falafel, hummus, pita and olives. Ask children to taste these different foods and describe their tastes to you. In addition, you can show children photos of various Israeli landmarks, such as the Western Wall and the Masada desert fortress that overlooks the Dead Sea, discussing the history and significance of each place.
Children can learn about the tradition of Shabbat (or sabbath) by helping children braid large strands of yarn or wide strips of felt, which replicates the experience of braiding challah, a Jewish egg bread traditionally served during Shabbat. This can be followed by helping children make challah, following the simple recipe provided in the book. Another activity is to cut out several Shabbat symbols --- such as candlesticks, challah, flowers and a kiddush cup --- from construction paper or felt. Have the children close their eyes while you remove one of the objects, then ask them to guess which one is missing. The more symbols you use, the more challenging the activity becomes.