Interstellar Cinderella: (Princess Books for Kids, Books about Science)

by Deborah Underwood, Meg Hunt (Illustrator)

Overview

Once upon a planetoid,
amid her tools and sprockets,
a girl named Cinderella dreamed of fixing fancy rockets.
With a little help from her fairy godrobot, Cinderella is going to the ball. But when the prince's ship has mechanical trouble, someone will have to zoom to the rescue! Readers will thank their lucky stars for this irrepressible fairy tale retelling, its independent heroine, and its stellar happy ending.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781452125329
Publisher:	Chronicle Books
Publication date:	05/05/2015
Series:	Future Fairy Tales Series
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	96,669
Product dimensions:	9.60(w) x 10.70(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	3 - 5 Years

About the Author

Deborah Underwood is the author of The Quiet Book (a New York Times bestseller and one of Publishers Weekly's Best Books of 2010) and The Loud Book. Deborah lives in San Francisco.

Meg Hunt is an illustrator, printmaker, educator, and all-around maker of things. Meg lives and works in Portland, Oregon. This is her first picture book.

Editorial Reviews

★ 04/06/2015
Like Cinder for the picture-book crowd, this futuristic take on Cinderella recasts the heroine as a skilled mechanic, one who studies rocket-ship repair late into the night. With her wide eyes, pink hair, and work goggles, Hunt’s Cinderella looks like she’s stepped out of a contemporary indie webcomic, and her extraterrestrial world hints at mid-century illustration influences. Writing in playful, clever rhymes, Underwood (The Quiet Book) gives this Cinderella welcome agency and independence. Yes, her fairy godrobot (who resembles a stylish update of Rosie from The Jetsons) hooks her up with an atomic blue space suit, but it’s up to Cinderella to fix the ship that she pilots to the Royal Space Parade. Cinderella and the prince bond after she repairs his ship (their budding friendship isn’t just interplanetary but interracial, too), and when he asks her to be his bride, “She thought this over carefully./ Her family watched in panic./ ‘I’m far too young for marriage,/ but I’ll be your chief mechanic!’” It’s another strong showing from Underwood, and a notable debut for Hunt. Ages 3–5. Author’s agent: Erin Murphy, Erin Murphy Literary Agency. Illustrator’s agency: Scott Hull Associates. (May)

Publishers Weekly

"A futuristic version of the Cinderella story starring a determined and independent-minded protagonist. Highly recommended."—A Mighty Girl

"A futuristic version of the Cinderella story starring a determined and independent-minded protagonist. Highly recommended."—A Mighty Girl

"A futuristic version of the Cinderella story starring a determined and independent-minded protagonist. Highly recommended."—A Mighty Girl

"Does Cinderella really need another re-telling? Heck yes!"—Design Mom

"Does Cinderella really need another re-telling? Heck yes!"—Design Mom

"Does Cinderella really need another re-telling? Heck yes!"—Design Mom

"An interesting take on a classic fairy tale."-School Library Journal

"An interesting take on a classic fairy tale."-School Library Journal

"An interesting take on a classic fairy tale."-School Library Journal

"A brilliant twist to the classic fairy tale that enables young readers to meet a brave heroine who can creatively solve problems, work with tools, and be herself."—Geek Dad

"A brilliant twist to the classic fairy tale that enables young readers to meet a brave heroine who can creatively solve problems, work with tools, and be herself."—Geek Dad

"A brilliant twist to the classic fairy tale that enables young readers to meet a brave heroine who can creatively solve problems, work with tools, and be herself."—Geek Dad

"A familiar folktale, but this time with a new, feminist, STEM-celebrating vocabulary and in witty rhyming text.'—Lilith Magazine

"A familiar folktale, but this time with a new, feminist, STEM-celebrating vocabulary and in witty rhyming text.'—Lilith Magazine

"A familiar folktale, but this time with a new, feminist, STEM-celebrating vocabulary and in witty rhyming text.'—Lilith Magazine

"Underwood gives thisCinderella welcome agency and independence."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Underwood gives thisCinderella welcome agency and independence."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Underwood gives thisCinderella welcome agency and independence."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

"This retelling focuses on what Cinderella can do, not what she can wear."—Horn Book Magazine

"This retelling focuses on what Cinderella can do, not what she can wear."—Horn Book Magazine

"This retelling focuses on what Cinderella can do, not what she can wear."—Horn Book Magazine

"This retelling focuses on what Cinderella can do, not what she can wear."—Horn Book Magazine

"This retelling focuses on what Cinderella can do, not what she can wear."—Horn Book Magazine

"This retelling focuses on what Cinderella can do, not what she can wear."—Horn Book Magazine

"It's the perfect antidote to fantasies of princely rescue."—Chicago Tribune

"It's the perfect antidote to fantasies of princely rescue."—Chicago Tribune

"It's the perfect antidote to fantasies of princely rescue."—Chicago Tribune

From the Publisher

06/01/2015
K-Gr 2—In this galactic retelling of the beloved children's story, Cinderella has a knack for repair. With the help of her sidekick, a robotic mouse named Murgatroyd, she tinkers with her stepmother's household appliances, but dreams of repairing spaceships. When an invitation to the Prince's Royal Space Parade arrives, the evil stepmother and her daughters leave Cinderella stranded, zooming into space with her toolbox. With the help of her fairy godrobot, Cinderella fixes a broken rocket and then dons a bejeweled atomic blue space suit, to race across the "starry sky" and join the crowds at the parade. When the royal ship has engine trouble, Interstellar Cinderella comes to the rescue. The grateful prince whisks her away to the Gravity Free Ball. At midnight, Cinderella has to run away, but the couple is reunited when the prince searches the cosmos for her. In a modern twist, Cinderella rejects his marriage proposal, but agrees to become his chief mechanic. The rhyming text is accompanied by somewhat jumbled illustrations painted in shadowy browns, greens, and blues. Cinderella resembles a Disney princess with her wide eyes, red hair and determined expression. The appropriately themed endpapers showcase an array of her space-age tools and gadgets. VERDICT An interesting take on a classic fairy tale.—Linda L. Walkins, Saint Joseph Preparatory High School, Boston, MA

School Library Journal