Miriam and Her Dancing Shoes, by Sandy Eisenberg Sasso, illustrated by Joani Rothenberg

Historical, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

Miriam and Her Dancing Shoes

by Sandy Eisenberg Sasso
illustrated by Joani Rothenberg

Apples & Honey Press, 2025. 40 pages.
Review written April 28, 2026, from a library book.
Starred Review

Miriam and Her Dancing Shoes is a delightful expansion on the Bible story of the parting of the Red Sea.

The paintings that go with the book have rich, beautiful colors. The people are leaving Egypt, but still complaining.

“ENOUGH COMPLAINING!”
Moses held up his hands.

“TAKE ONLY WHAT YOU CAN AND HURRY!”
There was no time to argue,
no time for bread to rise.
The people carried bowls of
sticky dough on their shoulders.

But not Miriam!
She carried a timbrel
and her dancing shoes.

I love Moses’s response:

“Give me strength,”
sighed Moses.
“We are running for our lives,
not planning a party!”

But as the people are going through the Sea of Reeds after Moses parts it, they are afraid and begin complaining again. Moses is so far ahead, they can’t even see him. And of course Pharaoh’s army is behind.

So Miriam shouts for them to follow her.

FOLLOW MY DANCING SHOES.

And when they slip and slide and get stuck in the mud, she tells them to lift up their feet like they are dancing. She plays her timbrel, and they walk to the rhythm.

Moses looked back
and was amazed.

The people were following
Miriam’s dancing shoes and
the music of her timbrel.

They were not complaining.
They were not grumbling.
They were singing.
They were dancing!

Miriam assures him this is the song of freedom, the sound of hope.

And this whole wonderful story is told with glorious paintings. I’m now thinking of this old story in a completely different way.

There are nine pages of back matter at the end of this picture book. I had a hard time deciding whether to put the book in nonfiction with some other Bible stories or with the picture books. I ultimately decided on picture books because the story it tells is so wonderful, and I think it will find more readers.

The back matter includes a wonderful song, written and performed by David Sasso, which you can find at www.davidsasso.com/freedom-walks-in-dancing-shoes. It’s based on the book and uses paintings from the book, and listening to it added to my delight with the whole project.

There are also a couple of craft projects in the back, including “Make a Freedom Tambourine,” and then notes about the story of the Exodus and the history of traditions that have grown up around Miriam, the sister of Moses.

You don’t have to be Jewish or Christian to love this story.

rabbisandysasso.com
applesandhoneypress.com

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Review of Kiki Kallira Breaks a Kingdom, by Sangu Mandanna

Children's Fiction Review, Fantasy 0

Kiki Kallira Breaks a Kingdom

by Sangu Mandanna
read by Zenia Starr

Listening Library, 2021. 7 hours, 5 minutes.
Review written July 4, 2026, from a library eaudiobook.

I checked out this audiobook because of how much I love the author’s cozy fantasy novels for adults. It turned out to be a sweet fantasy for kids, in the mythology-is-actually-real genre.

In this case, the mythology in question is Indian mythology, and there’s a twist. Kiki Kallira, a girl who’s recently started having symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (Though it’s not named as such, and she hasn’t gotten a diagnosis yet, because she hasn’t told her mother how bad it is yet.), has been obsessively drawing a world in her sketch book where a heroic girl, based on her disreputable great-aunt, battles a major Indian demon, aided by a band of resourceful orphans. One day, this girl shows up in her bedroom battling a lesser demon.

It turns out that the major demon is real, and had been exiled to The Nowhere Place. He schemed to get back to our world by using his magic to make Kiki’s sketchbook world real – and use that to get out of The Nowhere Place. Now he plans to go from Kiki’s world eventually back to our world.

Now, the girl hero has escaped through a small tear between worlds, and takes Kiki back with her. Kiki needs to defeat the demon in her pocket universe in order to keep him from finding his way to our world. But how can a small, weak little girl with a brain that won’t behave defeat a demon?

And once in her world, Kiki befriends the band of orphans, who were already dear to her. Now that they are real, can she really bear to do something that would make that world stop existing, even though it will defeat the evil demon?

So there are nice undercurrents here, and some twists and turns in the quest. The author continues to display her fantasy-writing chops.

sangumandanna.com

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Review of Burn the Haystack, by Jennie Young, PhD

Nonfiction Review, Personal Growth, Starred Review 0

Burn the Haystack

Decode Dating, Torch the Duds, and Make Room for Men Who Matter

by Jennie Young, PhD

William Morrow (HarperCollins), 2026. 302 pages.
Review written June 14, 2026, from an advance reader copy.
Starred Review

This book is absolutely brilliant! When I first took it home from our shelf of advance reader copies at work, I got hooked and stayed up way, way too late reading it. Then I put it down and tried to avoid reading it again because I didn’t want to stay up too late!

I had just finished reading another book about dating, which made me glad to not even be trying it again – but this book has changed my perspective, and I might actually try going back on the apps, if I get to a place where I’m willing to give it a little time. Whereas the other book implied that if you want to date with a matchmaker, you should be willing to put in plenty of effort – this approach is different and encourages you not to spend a lot of time on the apps.

Here’s the premise: Finding a man who’d be a good partner in a long-term relationship is like finding a needle in the haystack. How do you find a needle in a haystack? Burn the haystack of course!

The key step to burning the dating app haystack is “Block to Burn” or B2B. Once you’ve figured out a man is not an appropriate match, you don’t apologize. You don’t explain. You block him. If you don’t block, the apps will cycle back to the same men they already showed you.

She admits you’ll go on fewer dates with this method – but they should be better ones.

And that’s not all. Jennie Young has a PhD in Rhetoric. So she shows you not one, not two, but thirty-three red flag rhetorical patterns – and she explains what these patterns tell you and why you don’t need to feel guilty about blocking to burn.

This part delighted me – because in my experience with online dating, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen every one of these patterns. They are not rare (and many men combine several). But when I tried to explain why I don’t like strangers calling me “Dear” in their first message, some friends tried to tell me I was being too picky and should give them a chance. So I laughed out loud (and felt vindicated) when I read this (meant to be humorous) about the rhetorical pattern of people who quickly give you a pet name:

It seems obvious that people shouldn’t use pet names with strangers, but men do all the time. Rather than spending too much time trying to figure out why, let’s focus on what calling women pet names reveals about the men who are doing so:

–That they are presumptuous enough to assume women will be okay with this and/or like the pet names they choose.
–That they view women as objects and animals rather than complex human beings whom they do not know.
–That they’ve somehow missed sweeping changes to discourse norms for the past several decades. It’s true that there was a time when men could get away with calling women they didn’t know “honey” or “sweetie pie,” but that time is long past.
–That they are socially clueless and insensitive.

Any one of these revelations suggests a man is undatable. Block to burn the pet namers.

Another pattern it felt vindicated to see mentioned was the “No drama” guys. I once posted a PSA on Twitter about what a bad idea it is to put “No Drama” in your dating profile – It totally implies that this guy does not and will not take his girlfriend’s emotions seriously. But when I posted that, some random guy on Twitter mansplained to me why it’s actually okay! Needless to say, he convinced me even more deeply to avoid such men. And now I know that everyone following the Burn the Haystack Method is doing the same!

Or then there’s the people whose first message is “Hi!” There’s a whole sidebar about why you don’t need to bother with them. I’d learned that the hard way, but felt guilty about it. Now – B2B.

Honestly, I was already considered “too picky” by many of my friends. I’ve only been on four first dates with men I’ve met online – but they were all good dates, and two of them led to further dates. But the catch was I only blocked obvious scammers. So yes, I saw the same people I’d ruled out again and again. And I got tired of wading through the hay, and just gave up on online dating.

And the best part? I was afraid I’d forget some of the thirty-three rhetorical patterns. But I joined the author’s Burn the Haystack Facebook group! People post examples, and the whole community chimes in. Most are encouraging the person posting to block, but just today, someone got the opposite advice because it was probably not a red flag the way it was worded. So the group doesn’t just bash every man. And many success stories are also posted. With every posting, I’m learning more about the method and will feel less and less guilty about blocking men whom I definitely don’t want to start a relationship with.

Yes, she admits you’ll date fewer men with this method. But I, for one, think that’s much, much better. I was already ruling a lot of people out – but this will make it easier and completely guilt-free. And who knows? Maybe a needle will come up.

In closing, I have also been accused of being judgy – and here’s the author’s response to that accusation:

It’s definitely judgy, but I don’t see that as a negative. I love to judge things. I consider myself an excellent judge. It isjudgy, and it should be. You are choosing a human being, potentially for the rest of your life. There is no scenario that calls for more judgment. Being judgy keeps us safe, protects our boundaries and our time, and results in far better selections. Judge away, I say!

Oh, I should also add that this method is primarily for women looking for a long-term monogamous relationship. The author never implies that anything else is bad – that’s just what this method is designed for. Men who read the book can learn what not to say in their dating profiles. But if they don’t mean it and clean up their intentions behind those words – I do think red flags will slip out anyway. If you avoid these red flags and really mean what you’re saying – I think you’ll end up being a better relationship partner, so it’s all good.

So, will I use this info and jump into the dating pool again? I’m not sure, but meanwhile, I’m thoroughly enjoying watching empowered women in the Facebook group ruthlessly block to burn and end up finding their needles. Or simply being happier on their own.

If you’re single, I highly recommend this book. If you’re not single, you might get a kick out of it, too. At least stop giving dating advice to single friends until you’ve read it, please.

burnedhaystack.substack.com

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Review of Young World, by Soman Chainani

Science Fiction, Starred Review, Suspense, Teen Fiction Review 0

Young World

by Soman Chainani

Random House, 2026. 474 pages.
Review written June 11, 2026, from a library book.
Starred Review

This novel is bonkers, chaotic, and far-fetched – but the truth is, I loved the wild ride.

The premise is that a 17-year-old named Benton Young, to impress an earnest girl, made a video that went viral and won the US presidency as a write-in. Okay, he didn’t get 270 electoral votes, and then there’s that little detail about it being unconstitutional – but politics got him actually in the White House. You see, his election started a global movement – a Young Revolution – and across the globe young people got put into positions of power. (The politicians were afraid of the movement and put the right pressure on the Supreme Court to say his election is okay. They’re planning to impeach him soon anyway.)

But being elected isn’t the same as wielding the power of the presidency. The powers that be don’t even want to let him appoint his own Cabinet – until he strikes a deal and gets his two best friends in.

But then the stakes move to a G-8 summit in Sweden. And it’s all about an island found in the Arctic among the melting ice caps that is claimed to be the ticket to great wealth for the country that claims it. But rumor has it, there’s a giant volcano under that island that could wipe out the planet.

So this is what’s being discussed when one of the leaders at the summit is murdered and the whole world thinks Benton did it. So for the rest of the book, he’s on the run across the globe and different powers are after him and trying to make deals with him and he can’t tell whom to trust or what to do. And that’s where it gets pretty chaotic at the end. I couldn’t completely picture what was happening in the big climactic scene.

But there’s lots and lots of action, along with plenty of thoughts about power and about what’s important. Benton comes to power because he sees the world as divided not by Red and Blue but by the Spend-Its and the Save-Its – the Save-Its being the young people who want to live in a world that’s going to last until they’re old. This book leaves you with lots to think about while you’re enjoying the wild ride.

somanchainani.com

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Review of What Emma Wrote, by Ann Diament Koffsky, illustrated by N. Tarcan

Biography, Children's Nonfiction Review, Starred Review 0

coverWhat Emma Wrote

The Woman Behind the Words on the Statue of Liberty

by Ann Diament Koffsky
illustrated by N. Tarcan

Apples & Honey Press, 2026. 44 pages.
Review written July 6, 2026, from a library book.
Starred Review

This picture book biography seems especially appropriate for America’s 250th birthday. It’s the story of Emma Lazarus, the author of the poem “The New Colossus” engraved on a bronze plaque on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty, told simply for young readers.

Even as a child, Emma wanted to be a writer. Her family made a book of her poems and stories that they shared with friends. As she grew up, she became aware of the plight of Jewish immigrants facing hard times. Her own family had immigrated to the United States almost two hundred years before, but she remembered their history and felt a kinship.

And her work helping immigrants with practical needs also led to using her writing to rebut people who tried to name immigrants as the problem in America.

She wrote about the people she had met on Wards Island. She explained that they deserved to be welcomed and helped.

Emma didn’t stop after that. She wrote article after article and shared even more stories about immigrants.

Activism on behalf of immigrants plus writing skills made Emma Lazarus the perfect person to write a poem about the Statue of Liberty while it was being built.

I enjoyed reading the entire poem. I wish the name for the Statue of Liberty that she suggests had stuck: “Mother of Exiles.”

There are facts about the statue and about Emma Lazarus at the back of the book.

The Statue of Liberty was a gift from France to commemorate the one hundredth birthday of the United States. How fitting to think back on it at our 250th birthday – but also reflect that some of the issues are still the same, that we still need to be reminded that one of our great strengths lies in welcoming people the rest of the world casts off.

Or, as Ann Diament Koffsky writes for children:

Emma’s poem is carved into a metal plate inside the statue’s base. It reminds visitors how important it is to welcome immigrants with kindness.

annkoffsky.com
nazlisillustrations.com

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Sonderbooks25 – Revisiting 2005 Sonderbooks Stand-outs!

Sonderbooks25, Stand-outs 0

I’m still celebrating #Sonderbooks25 – my 25th year of writing Sonderbooks! In fact, in a couple months – in August – I will hit the actual 25th anniversary.

My original plan was to reread my reviews of the Sonderbooks Stand-outs for each year, choose one of the books to reread, and blog about one year’s Stand-outs each week or two.

Ha!

I began this project in January 2025, and now in June 2026, I have just finished going through my 2005 reviews.

Let’s just say the project expanded, because I was having so much fun.

First, I’m redoing the Stand-outs pages so that they are in phone-friendly form. This was much harder with years 2001 to 2005 (or so I’m telling myself), which were in a completely different form and had to be almost rewritten from scratch. I’m hoping it will be easier from here on out. But meanwhile: Here’s my new 2005 Sonderbooks Stand-out page.

But beyond that, once I got to reading reviews, I started reading ALL the reviews. And the first five years of that is also a bigger job, because at the time I was working half-time and had more time to read. Those early reviews were posted in Sonderbooks “Issues” with books from each category in every issue, and issues came out every three weeks or so. Those reviews are not on this blog, but you can find them on the Back Issues page. 2005 covered Sonderbooks #91 through Sonderbooks #104

And while I was doing that, it was fun to read about what happened in my life when I was reading those particular books, on my Project 52 posts.

But 2005? That was the year my life fell apart as my husband left me. So It took five Project 52 posts: Heartbreak, Please, Let Me Fix It!, Into the Wilderness, I’ll Always Have Paris!, and Separation and Spain.

[And – as it happens, the day after I reread those posts – on vacation in France – I just revisited the Abbaye de Royaumont in a full circle moment. It was at the Abbaye in November 2005 that I decided to become a librarian and keep writing and gained hope about my life, even though it was falling apart at the time. It was awesome to go back and say to my past self – The librarian thing and the writing thing? They turned out even better than you dreamed!]

I should add that this is the first year the two lists have changed slightly. Last year, because of reading Sheila Wray Gregoire’s work, I took down my reviews of two 2005 Sonderbooks Stand-outs on marriage, Love and Respect and For Women Only. I’ve got links as to why on the pages, but I did leave them out of the new Stand-outs page.

As for the individual books, there were some incredibly good books among the 2005 Sonderbooks Stand-outs.

The one that most changed my life, that was absolutely the most crucial for my well-being was The Script: The 100% Absolutely Predictable Things Men Do When They Cheat, by Elizabeth Landers and Vicky Mainzer. That was the book that finally helped me realize that despite what my husband said (even though I still believed him he wasn’t having an affair) – it was not all my fault that he was divorcing me. I was not, in fact, impossible to live with. That was all part of The Script. I won’t be rereading that book. Rereading my detailed review was enough.

There are several books that are going in my I-definitely-plan-to-reread-these pile:
Confessions of Super Mom, by Melanie Lynne Hauser
Q & A, by Vikas Swarup,
The Folk Keeper, by Franny Billingsley (met her at Royaumont!)
Once Upon a Midlife, by Allen B. Chinen
Writing About Your Life, by William Zinsser
Walking a Literary Labyrinth, by Nancy M. Malone (I brought this one along on my France trip and already finished rereading it. Review will post soon.)

2005 was a tough year to live, but it was a great year for reading!

I hope 2025 readers may discover some of these gems.

Review of Whistler, by Ann Patchett

Contemporary, Fiction Review, Starred Review 0

Whistler

by Ann Patchett
read by the Author

Harper, 2026. 10 hours, 45 minutes.
Review written July 1, 2026, from a library eaudiobook.
Starred Review

Whistler is another rich, warm tapestry of a novel from genius author Ann Patchett.

This one begins when Daphne’s husband notices that a man is following them in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The stranger turns out to be Eddie Triplett – her former stepfather. They haven’t seen each other in 44 years, since Daphne was nine years old.

Of the three men her mother married, Eddie was Daphne’s favorite. Her mother had told Daphne that he had to leave because he’d endangered her life in the car accident that happened shortly before she sent him away. Now as an adult, Daphne learns about the real reasons. And she has a lot of unpacking to do.

The story of that car accident from 44 years ago weaves through the book. While her sister was in the hospital with appendicitis and their mother was by her side, Eddie drove Daphne up to a closed-for-the-winter blackberry farm to see the stars – and drove off the side of the hill. Eddie was injured and couldn’t get out, and they spent significant time talking together in the toppled car. Eddie was an editor and told Daphne a story of a book proposal he’d just read where a woman was in an accident and was saved when her horse, Whistler, came back for her.

But the book isn’t simply about that long-ago car accident. It’s also about the present, about reconnecting while making new sense of the past. And above all, it’s about the joy of reuniting with a beloved father figure.

A richly written and evocative book about joy and love. Can I give a stronger recommendation?

annpatchett.com

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Review of Heir, by Sabaa Tahir

Audiobooks, Fantasy, Teen Fiction Review 0

Heir

by Sabaa Tahir
read by Vidish Athavale, Esme Lonsdale, Joe Pitts, Marco Young, and Rachel Petladwala

Listening Library, 2024. 17 hours, 47 minutes.
Review written April 24, 2025, from a library eaudiobook.

Epic fantasy is how Sabaa Tahir started out as an author. Her only book I’ve read is the incredibly good multiple-award-winning All My Rage, so when she started a new fantasy series that is wildly popular, I decided to check it out.

I have to say this book was great for a little road trip I did – keeping me intent on the story for the whole drive. It starts out with three main characters, narrated by three different voice actors. (The two additional narrators get some time, but they are voicing side characters.) At the start, we don’t know how the three characters will come together, and we’re a good way in before we realize the story of one of the characters is being told on a different timeline.

Aiz is the first character we meet. She grew up in an orphanage and plans to assassinate the ruler – who set the orphanage on fire ten years ago and killed many of her friends. She prays to Mother Div for help for her people, the Kegar, who live on a barren island and have to raid other lands using their magic to even be able to eat.

Next up is Quil, the Crown Prince of the Martial Empire, being trained by his Aunt to replace her as ruler. But when he’s in a foreign city, there’s a horrible attack on children, with their hearts torn out and dried up.

Sirsha is next. She has the magic of tracking, but has been cast out of her tribe and ordered never to use magic again. But when a man offers her enough money to escape the empire and never work again, she can’t refuse. The man asks her to track a monstrous creature who has been killing children horribly.

And yes, the characters’ lives end up intertwining, some sooner than others. There are attacks on the Empire – and the monster killing the children is hard to defeat.

It all adds up to an epic story – which, fair warning, is not finished when the book is done. In fact, something awful happens at the end, and the author just better straighten that out in the next book!

There is much suffering and many horrible deaths in this book, and some sex as well, not always consensual, so this isn’t one of the sweet fantasy tales I prefer. But it is an epic tale with skillfully interwoven storylines, about politics, power, magic, and deciding what you’ll do to help your people.

sabaatahir.com

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Review of We the People Is All the People, written by Howard W. Reeves, illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh

Contemporary, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

We the People Is All the People

written by Howard W. Reeves
illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh

Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2026. 36 pages.
Review written June 4, 2026, from a library book.
Starred Review

The concept of this picture book is simple and beautiful. The first page after the title page lists the Preamble to the United States Constitution, of course beginning with “We the People.” The rest of the book shows the wonderful multi-faceted diversity of the people of the United States.

Here’s how it begins:

“We the people” is all the people.

People
next door,
down the street,
and across the country,
in cities,
towns,
and farms.

People
living in houses,
apartments,
and in shelters,

who worship in churches,
mosques,
and temples.

People
who were here,
who arrived later,
who still come today.

And so it continues. Of course the pictures add great resonance – showing us a wide variety of people who fit each description.

A later section includes:

People
who look different ways,
love different ways,
and communicate different ways.

People
on assembly lines,
bread lines,
and protest lines.

And the last couple spreads:

Her. Him. Them.
You. Me. Us.

“We the people” is ALL the people.

There’s an author’s note at the back where he does acknowledge that the Constitution was originally written not for all the people, but for landowning white men. But I like his conclusion:

Some injustices have been corrected, such as emancipating the enslaved and giving women the vote, while others we are still working on.

Although things are better today, and there are more people included in “we the people” than when the preamble was written, for every step forward there is often a step backward, and there are still so many people left out. We still have much more work to do to include all the “we” in “we the people” as we strive to create a more perfect union.

This simple and beautiful picture book helps me believe that we can raise up the next generation to help make it so. Reading this book is a perfect way to celebrate America’s 250th birthday.

DuncanTonatiuh.com
abramsbooks.com

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Review of How to Survive the End of the World, by Katy Doughty

Graphic Novel, Science, Starred Review, Teen Nonfiction 0

How to Survive the End of the World

A Graphic Exploration of How to (Maybe) Avoid Extinction

by Katy Doughty

MiTeenPress, 2026. 250 pages.
Review written June 9, 2026, from a library book.
Starred Review

I did not expect to enjoy this graphic nonfiction book as much as I did. (“Graphic” as in “graphic novel” – it’s got a comics format, but is not a novel.) I don’t like to think about the end of the world, but do like to think that I’m old enough the earth will outlive me, anyway. But young people today aren’t so sure, and this book addresses some legitimate concerns.

Basically, it’s a graphic novel presentation about the ways the earth might end – and what mankind is, or should be, or could be, doing about those things. After a chapter about “The Beginning,” we’ve got chapters on “Plagues and Pandemics,” “Deadly Blasts,” “Climate Meltdown,” “Killer Machines,” “Falling Skies,” and “Cosmic Collapse.” Most of the chapters include historic events in those categories that threatened life on earth – we read of the Black Plague, of smallpox in the Americas, of enormous volcano blasts, and of meteorites that may have wiped out the dinosaurs.

There’s also speculation about ways humanity could survive, including colonizing other planets – and the ethics that raises. But we’ve also got ways scientists are trying to prevent these disasters from happening – from pandemics to meteorite strikes, climate meltdown to AI destroying humanity.

It’s all more interesting – and less morbid – than I had anticipated. I think it’s fair to give teens the facts and set their minds thinking about the project of helping humanity survive. I was amazed by some of the innovative ideas presented here (part of what made it more hopeful than morbid) – and who knows whether readers of this book will set their minds to contributing more answers?

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