Sammy Spider, whose adventures have described Jewish holidays and values for more than two decades, here explains the concept of mitzvot (good deeds) for young listeners. Sammy's human friend Josh has a cold. The young arachnid observes a human neighbor bringing chicken soup to Josh, and Mrs. Spider explains that it is a mitzvah to visit the sick. Obviously Sammy can't make soup, but he does spin a beautiful web that includes a get-well message, which cheers Josh immensely. By now preschoolers and their caregivers know what to expect from this series: a simple story introducing a single Judaic concept, sunny collage-style illustrations set against a white background, and one or two Hebrew words or phrases. (Here we learn that the Hebrew equivalent of gesundheit is labriut.) This makes a good read-aloud for families or religious schools. Pair with Elizabeth Suneby and Diane Heiman's It's a . . . It's a . . . It's a Mitzvah (2012), which introduces a wide variety of good deeds.

Sammy Spider watches a neighbor deliver chicken soup to Josh, who has a cold. Sammy helps Josh by spinning a web to make him feel better. The slight story doesn't actually define the word mitzvah, though readers might pick it up from context. Rough but colorful collage illustrations have some nice details, like text written in Sammy's web, Charlotte's Webstyle.