The team behind the Sam­my Spi­der books is back, hav­ing cre­at­ed a Hanukkah cook­book. Like most cook­books, it is divid­ed into sec­tions based on dif­fer­ent types of food: Sim­ple Snacks, Mir­a­cle Meals, Tasty Treats and a sec­tion titled Crafty Ideas. The recipes are sim­ple, as are most of the ingre­di­ents, and the book is meant for adults and chil­dren to read and enjoy mak­ing the recipes togeth­er. Chil­dren need a lot of super­vi­sion in the kitchen and the direc­tions make it clear to chil­dren that they will need adult help. 

Kather­ine Janus Kahn’s illus­tra­tions are as bright and vibrant as ever.

The food is Hanukkah-themed and the team worked hard to fit all the recipe titles into the theme, as well. 

Addi­tion­al mate­r­i­al in the back of the book teach­es about Hanukkah and light­ing the meno­rah. There is also an intro­duc­to­ry sec­tion for adults to read to chil­dren which sets up the Sam­my theme and intro­duces the recipes. This book would be a great resource for par­ents who have chil­dren home on ​“win­ter break” and has edu­ca­tion­al com­po­nents, as well; it would be espe­cial­ly use­ful for num­ber and count­ing activ­i­ties. Fam­i­lies and class­es will enjoy ​“dig­ging into” this book.

Rec­om­mend­ed for ages 4 — 8 with adult supervision.