Interstellar Cinderella by Deborah Underwood

Illustrator’s agency: Scott Hull Associates. It is a space-age spectacle ideal for young audiences, but fun for the whole family. Author’s agent: Erin Murphy, Erin Murphy Literary Agency. Based on the award-winning children’s book by Deborah Underwood, Interstellar Cinderella brings this reimagined independent heroine on an intergalactic space adventure celebrating science, courage, kindness and achieving one’s dreams. 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. 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. Writing in playful, clever rhymes, Underwood ( The Quiet Book) gives this Cinderella welcome agency and independence. 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.

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.

Interstellar Cinderella by Deborah Underwood