Sadoni Squirrel: Superhero by Once Upon a Dance is A Dance-It-Out Creative Movement Story. Sadoni Squirrel is sad that her cat friend, Jamieson, doesn’t believe she has a superpower. Even when she saves a baby bird from falling out of its nest by using a power – freeze breath – Jamieson still doesn’t believe her. Using her freeze breath, she saves many baby animals from being hurt but Jamieson never sees it, and all her squirrel friends have gone, scared that her powers are contagious. Sadoni feels so alone, until one day, Jamieson needs help. His human is sick and he needs to get help. Sadoni promises to help but only if Jamieson trusts her. Will Jamieson trust her and can Sadoni save Jamieson’s human?

Sadoni Squirrel: Superhero by Once Upon a Dance is one of the Dance-It-Out creative stories for kids and it’s a wonderful way to get kids moving. Every page is filled with illustrations to bring the story to life and Ballerina Konora shows kids how to live the story with a series of movements. Not only is this a fun way for children to get involved in a story but it’s also a great way for them to get some exercise. The story itself is short and to the point, well-written in clear language. Konora’s lessons in each movement are also very clear and easy to understand, with photos to help the kids understand how to do it. This is one of a series of books that kids will want to read over and again and is also ideal for schools and pre-schools.

Sadoni Squirrel: Superhero by Once Upon a Dance is a delightful story about the antics of an unusual squirrel. Like the rest of her family, Sadoni has the superpower of ‘freeze breath’, turning air or water into ice for the purpose of helping other creatures in need. Trouble is, Sadoni’s erstwhile cat friend, Jamison, is skeptical about Sadoni’s abilities. It is only when Jamison’s human runs into trouble that Jamison trusts Sadoni enough to work with him on a solution. Aside from the quirky story pictures (by Ethan Roffler), Sadoni Squirrel: Superhero has even more than an often-humorous story to offer; it is also a creative movement story. In the right-hand margin of each page, Ballerina Konora explains simple body movements for young dancers to act/dance out the story. Here, age-appropriate, perfectly matched instructions accompany clear, self-explanatory photographs of Konora in motion.

The authors, a mother-daughter team, explain in the peritext that Sadoni Squirrel: Superhero (and others in the series) was started as a result of the pandemic’s restrictions. It is a wonderful idea. The story is good as a standalone for young readers and even better as a creative movement story. The one aspect enhances the other, with the story aspect making the dance sequence as a whole more meaningful. Aside from one or two slight gaps in the text, with adult direction Sadoni Squirrel: Superhero will be a clever, creative, fun, and memorable way for young readers and dancers to enjoy both reading and dance. I loved it.