By Sylvia A. Rouss
A tiny spider watches a family light the menorah for eight nights and learns his colors while he's at it, a gentle first Hanukkah for the littlest ones.
Sammy Spider lives in the corner of the Shapiros' house, and it's Hanukkah, so every night he watches the family light one more candle and spin a dreidel of a different color. Sammy desperately wants to spin a dreidel too, but every time, his mother reminds him, 'Spiders don't spin dreidels. Spiders spin webs.' So across eight nights the book teaches a toddler the colors of the dreidels and the candles, the shape of the menorah, and the simple rhythm of the holiday, all from the point of view of one small, hopeful spider.
This is the gift for the very youngest child on your list, a first, no-pressure introduction to Hanukkah that doesn't need them to know a single thing going in. It teaches colors and counting the way toddlers actually learn, by repeating a warm little pattern eight times over. The cut-paper art is bright and simple, and Sammy is easy to love. For a family celebrating with a two- or three-year-old, or for a child meeting the holiday for the first time, it's about as gentle a doorway in as there is.