CeeCee: Underground Railroad by Shana Keller, illustrated by Laura Freeman (Charlesbridge, 32 pages, grades 1-5). Cecelia, or CeeCee for short, knows that her real name is different, a name that she keeps on a piece of paper hidden away from the people she works for on a Maryland plantation. The mother and two daughters there are always finding ways to scold and punish her, no matter how hard she works, but CeeCee has dreams of one day finding a better life. Binty the cook, in the role of the fairy godmother, sneaks CeeCee food and assures her that she can do anything. She also tells the girl about a prince named Moses who can give her a better life. After months of planning and secretly making herself new clothes to wear, CeeCee is runs away one night to find the mysterious prince. She’s surprised to learn that Moses is a woman named Harriet Tubman, who inspires CeeCee enough to finally share that she is named Edea, after her mama. Includes additional information about Harriet Tubman, names during slavery, Cinderella, and fairy tales.
This is a really interesting combination of Cinderella story and information about Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad that would make an excellent compare and contrast exercise with some of the many other versions of Cinderella. The theme of the power of names and the dehumanizing impact of taking away someone’s name could start some good discussions.
The Fairy Tale Fixers: Cinderella by Deborah Underwood, illustrated by Jorge Lacera (Clarion Books, 128 pages, grades 1-5). The Fairy Tale Fixer is just getting ready to go home to a Friday evening pancake supper, when the phone rings. It’s another mouse, and she has an emergency: the house where she lives is filled with screaming and she needs the Fixer to make things right. When the Fixer reluctantly takes the case, he discovers a girl named Cinderella being yelled at by her stepmother and stepsisters. His solution? Send Cinderella to the ball and marry her off to the prince. After all, doesn’t every girl want to marry a prince? But things go off the fairy-tale tracks at that point, and the Fixer learns that it’s a good idea to ask someone what she wants before assuming anything. Cinderella eventually gets her unconventional happily-ever-after, and the Fixer gets a new assistant and a call about a new case: an evil fairy is about to put a princess to sleep for 100 years.
The familiar story gets a fun twist in this new series opener featuring a couple of mice who fracture fairy tales. Kids just starting to read longer books will enjoy the humor and comparing the traditional story to the new version, with the end giving a preview of book 2.