Hey there, everyone! Today’s book is an awesome girl-power twist on a classic children’s story: Interstellar Cinderella, written by Deborah Underwood and illustrated by Meg Hunt, a sci-fi spin on the Cinderella tale.

Cinderella dreams of one day being a ship’s mechanic. Every day, she toils for her wicked stepmother and stepsisters, fixing their robots around the house, but by night she reads manuals and dreams of repairing rockets. With a little help from her fairy Godrobot, she is able to attend the royal rocket parade and, while there, impresses the prince when his rocketship breaks down. They talk about ships until midnight, when she dashes home. Hoping to find the girl with the mechanical know-how, the prince sets out to test the skills of the ladies of the land – but will Cinderella’s wicked stepmother keep her from proving her worth?

We LOVED this book. It’s a perfect update on the Cinderella tale, with a heroine who is capable, talented, and far more than just pretty (the prince falls for her without ever seeing her face, due to her spacesuit)! I especially loved that it was Cinderella’s mechanical skills that prove her identity, not just a shoe fitting. And lastly, I loved that romance was not the focus: after the prince proposes, Cinderella politely declines, saying that she is far too young to be married. She instead asks to be his chief mechanic, which he happily accepts. It shows young readers that their dreams beyond love or marriage are valid, important and achievable. Add in some gorgeously colorful graphic art illustrations, a fantastic length for all ages, fun rhyming text, and the fact that JJ loved it, and this one is emphatically Baby Bookworm approved!