DARSHANA KHIANI INTERVIEWS RAJANI LAROCCA, AUTHOR OF MIRROR TO MIRROR (Quill Tree Books; $19.99, Ages 8-12)       SUMMARY: Rajani LaRocca, recipient of a Newbery Honor and Walter Award for Red, White, and Whole, is back with an evocative novel in verse about identical twin sisters who do everything together—until external pressures threaten to break them apart.   INTERVIEW: Darshana Khiani: What was your initial inspiration for writing this book? Rajani LaRocca: Mirror to Mirror started with a single poem. In April 2020, I took an online workshop with renowned poet Lesléa Newman in which she talked about several…

  FREEWATER by Amina Luqman-Dawson (Little, Brown BYR; $16.99, Ages 10+)       Awards: John Newbery Medal, Coretta Scott King Author Award An Indiebound Bestseller ★Starred reviews: Booklist, Horn Book, Kirkus Reviews, Publisher's Weekly, and School Library Connections   "A gripping story of friendship, survival, and courage as a group of young children overcome trauma and fear to pursue freedom for themselves and their community."   Freewater is the award-winning novel by Amina Luqman-Dawson published a little over a year ago. It opens with the harrowing flight of two enslaved children, twelve-year-old Homer and his younger sister Ada, from…

  VICKY FANG INTERVIEWS ELISA BOXER, AUTHOR OF HIDDEN HOPE:  How a Toy and a Hero Saved Lives During the Holocaust (Abrams BYR; $19.99, Ages 4-8)       ★ Starred review - School Library Journal, Booklist   INTERVIEW: Vicky Fang: Elisa, HIDDEN HOPE is such an inspiring book. I love that you're able to share a story that is so historically rich in such a compelling way. How did you come up with the idea for this book? Elisa Boxer: Vicky, thank you so much. Great to be here with you. The idea for this book began when I…

  GRACE BRINGS BACK BUBBE'S SMILE Written by Jane Sutton Illustrated by Debby Rahmalia (Albert Whitman & Co.; $17.99, Ages 4-8)     Author Jane Sutton and illustrator Debby Rahmalia's picture book, Gracie Brings Back Bubbe's Smile, was easy to enjoy. It brought me back to my childhood as I recalled all the Yiddish words my parents and other relatives used when I was growing up. I knew conversations were about money when I heard them use the word gelt. When kinder was mentioned, they were talking about me, my brother or my cousins. Yet this book is so much…

  THE ISLAND by Natasha Preston (Delacorte Press; Paperback Original $12.99, Ages 12+)     The Island is the latest YA thriller from New York Times’ best-selling author, Natasha Preston. Six teen influencers are invited to spend an exclusive weekend at a not-yet-opened amusement park island resort. The main character is seventeen-year-old Paisley who posts about crime; her knowledge of that topic may be helpful when, one by one, the eleven people on this remote island begin to disappear. Then a storm and power outage hit. The influencers are trapped there along with the island’s staff, the strange billionaire owner,…

  AN INTERVIEW WITH KIRSTEN W. LARSON AUTHOR OF THE FIRE OF STARS (Chronicle Books; $18.99, Ages 5-8)         ★Starred Reviews - Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, Shelf Awareness INTERVIEW: Elisa Boxer: I’m so happy to be here interviewing my Soaring 20s colleague and friend Kirsten W. Larson about her newest picture book, The Fire of Stars: The Life and Brilliance of the Woman Who Discovered What Stars are Made Of. It’s an absolutely stellar book! Kirsten weaves together two stories in one: The creation of a star, and the evolution of astronomer Cecilia Payne, who…

  THE SNOWMAN WALTZ Written by Karen Konnerth Illustrated by Emily Neilson (Sleeping Bear Press; $17.99, Ages 4-8)       Cold and snowy weather may wreak havoc across the U.S., but The Snowman Waltz written by Karen Konnerth and illustrated by Emily Neilson makes good use of such frosty conditions. Set against a beautiful backdrop of a winter woodland glen, this picture book invites young readers to glide across their own floors and follow in the footsteps of the snowmen and penguin characters.     Konnerth has created a friendly battle of the beats in that a jovial snowman community's…