My first picture book was published over 25 years ago. In the quarter of a century following my first book’s publication I have continued to publish books regularly, including the popular Sammy the Spider series, and I have learned a lot about both writing and publishing. This article covers the most important…
Read More
Fun Things to do at Home and at School with Sammy Spider
Sammy Spider’s First Rosh Hashanah (focus on sizes to reinforce holiday symbols as you teach size relationships, small, middle-sized, and large). Use a picture of Sammy Spider or a spider puppet. Ask children to help Sammy Spider find the smallest apple, the middle-sized challah, the biggest bowl of honey, the…
Read More
Listen to Podcast on Diversity in Jewish KidLit
January 27, 2015 was Multicultural Children’s Book Day. It seems like good timing to share some thoughts on diversity within Jewish children’s literature. Sylvia Rouss, Mira Reisberg, Joni Sussman and Ann Stampler spoke at the 2014 Association of Jewish Libraries conference on a panel responding to the Pew study “A Portrait of…
Read More
Happy Birthday Sammy from your friends in Georgia
I recently returned from Sammy Spider’s 20th birthday celebration in Atlanta Georgia. I was hosted by RuthE Levy (yep, it’s RuthE, not Ruthie), the owner of Oy Toys and And Thou Shalt Read. When RuthE, picked me up at the airport, she welcomed me with a Sammy Spider challah that…
Read More
PJ Library Conference
I had the most wonderful experience last week at the PJ Library Conference in Baltimore. Almost 200 PJ Library professionals assembled for work shops and team building activities. Camaraderie and enthusiasm marked each and every session. Especially meaningful for me was meeting my writing colleagues and we were told that…
Read More
Keeping A Promise and Doing a Mitzvah
In September of 2005, my husband and I contacted the Jewish community of New Orleans and offered to visit at our own expense the children of New Orleans. But Katrina had just been too devastating and the community was still living with distant family, friends and in relief centers, and…
Read More