New Arrival: Picture Book: Interstellar Cinderella, Deborah Underwood & Meg Hunt

Interstellar Cinderella
Deborah Underwood, illustrated by Meg Hunt
ISBN: 9781452125329
Read April 15, 2016

This is SOOOO Cute!  Cinderella in space, told in rhyme (only occasionally forced).  Cinders is a crackerjack mechanic this time around, and she really wants to see the Prince's ship parade, but the evil family steals her toolbox and leaves her behind.  Fairy god-robot steps in to save the day, and Cinders fixes the Prince's ship before zooming off at midnight.  Instead of a shoe, the crystal is a special socket wrench (shades of sonic screwdrivers here) and the stepsisters are set to trying to fix the Prince's ship instead of cutting off their feet.  Happy ending is skewed too, in just the right way: Cinders isn't interested in marriage, but she will take a job offer as the Royal Mechanic!

So cute, and a great updated take on the classic.

Picture Book: Wild Child, Lynn Plourde & Greg Couch

Wild Child
Lynn Plourde, illustrated by Greg Couch
ISBN: 0689815522
Read February 6, 2014

Picture Book: Mother Earth, all in rusty greens and rich coppery browns, begins the drawn-out ritual of putting little Wild Child to bed.  First a song of fall noises, then a snack of fall harvest fruits, then a nightgown of fall leaves, and finally a lullabye of wintery whispery winds - just in time for a wintery sibling to pop up and declare that she 'can't sleep' as she swirls and dances on the page.

 Couch does a lovely job with the artwork, and the poetic rhythmic language is beautiful, but it seems a bit too active to be a fitting bedtime story.  Perfect for storytime, and I'm adding it to my collection of fall stories.