INTERVIEW WITH SYLVIA ROUSS BY STORYBOOK LADY APRIL 24, 2026 Sylvia Rouss is best known for her Sammy the Spider series, and I have been a fan since my children were little. She published her most recent Sammy book last year, but she has also recently written about preschool, bugs…
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The Little Acorn’s Big Adventure
Little acorns can have big adventures too. The little acorn’s adventure begins when it drops from a huge oak tree in the middle of a great forest. Will it become a meal for a hungry bird or a squirrel? Will it be crushed as it gets trampled by a big…
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Tu B’Shevat
Tu B’Shevat, the “birthday of the trees”, begins soon. Tu B’Shevat Background Tu B’Shevat, which literally means the 15th of the month of Shevat, celebrates the new year or birthday of the trees. In the secular calendar, the holiday occurs sometime between the end of January and the beginning of February.…
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Join Morah Elana for a video-reading of “Sammy Spider’s First Tu B’Shevat”
Tu BiShvat 2022 will begin in the evening of Sunday, January 16 and ends in the evening of Monday, January 17. Tu B’Shevat is the Jewish holiday occurring on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shevat. It is also called Rosh HaShanah La’Ilanot literally ‘New Year of the…
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New Year for the Trees: A Children’s Reading List for Tu Bishvat
The concreteness and simplicity of the tree theme makes Tu Bishvat a wonderful holiday to explore with children. For younger readers, try Sylvia Rouss’ Sammy Spider’s First Tu B’Shevat (ages 3 – 8). Sammy Spider observes a tree through the seasons, from planting to flowering to losing its leaves. Sammy’s many questions suggest to children that…
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Year Round Stories, Songs and Rhymes for the Jewish Family with Young Children
Since the rights to these book and stories have been returned to me, I decided to make them available to the current generation of early childhood educators and parents and grandparents of toddlers. Enjoy! Fun with Jewish Holiday Songs, Original Songs set to Traditional Melodies Fun With Jewish Holiday Rhymes…
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