Interstellar Cinderella

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)

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