Sylvia Rouss and Kather­ine Janus Kahn, the author and illus­tra­tor duo that brought read­ers the beloved Sam­my Spi­der, intro­duce their newest friend, Ari Ant. Like Sam­my Spi­der, Ari Ant is adven­tur­ous and curi­ous. He likes to watch the chil­dren play on the play­ground. In A Hol­i­day for Ari Ant, he joins the chil­dren for their les­son on the upcom­ing hol­i­day, Lag B’Omer. A some­times for­got­ten hol­i­day, Lag B’Omer cel­e­brates the 33rd day of count­ing the Omer between Passover and Shavuot. Schools and fam­i­lies make bon­fires to remem­ber the brav­ery of Shi­mon bar Yohai who stud­ied Torah in secret, pre­tend­ing to go on pic­nics with stu­dents in the moun­tain caves.

Ari Ant can’t wait to cel­e­brate Lag B’Omer, but each time he tries to par­tic­i­pate in the fes­tiv­i­ties of the hol­i­day, he becomes dis­ap­point­ed. First, two girls who are pre­tend pic­nick­ing don’t leave him any food crumbs, then a sand pile top­ples over on him, and then he gets caught in glue! Will Ari Ant ever enjoy Lag B’Omer? This pur­ple ant, illus­trat­ed with col­ored col­lages in the same spir­it as the illus­tra­tions in Eric Car­le’s books, will be a delight to host at your next Jew­ish hol­i­day celebration.