The Interstellar Cinderella Trifecta

The Nerdy Book Club, Colby Sharp, and I are celebrating Children's Book Week with Deborah Underwood and Meg Hunt. 

Hi, Meg! Happy book birthday to Interstellar Cinderella! How are you going to celebrate this special occasion? 

Meg Hunt: I'm going to look at the stars at midnight and dream of space. Then I am going to be working all day with senior illustration students as they present their thesis projects. Inspiring!

Scenario: You’re browsing the picture book section at Powell’s Books when you spot someone looking at a copy of Interstellar Cinderella. You decide to deliver an impromptu booktalk. Ready, set, go! 

Meg Hunt: Interstellar Cinderella is a great riff on the classic fairy tale, except this time our magenta-haired heroine dreams of being a space mechanic who fixes robots all day! There's a fairy god-bot, cute aliens, a dashing prince, and stars and galaxies swirling around! Cinderella zips throughout the story with a can-do spirit, a DIY attitude, and loads of charm.

Photo Credit: Meg Hunt

If we were standing in your studio right now, what would we see? 

Meg Hunt: Oh gosh. Well, you'd see a tiny dog sprawled on her back underneath my desk, and then loads of art supplies, cups of coffee and tea, sketchbooks and papers scattered everywhere. I have a tiny home studio and a dangerously growing art supply collection, which makes for a beautiful tornado of creativity.

Is there a book you read over and over and over again as a child? 

Meg Hunt: Hmm, that would probably be Where the Wild Things Are, or Harry the Dirty Dog. But I read a lot as a kid-- I was a voracious bookworm. (I also drew in a few of the library books, oops sorry librarians!)

Portland, Oregon, is one of my all-time favorite cities. Your fine city is home to the best restaurants, independent bookshops, and, of course, Ramona Quimby’s neighborhood. If someone only had 15 hours to spend in your fine city, you would tell them to...

Meg Hunt: I would tell them to start your day by throwing a stone in any direction and get some amazing coffee-- walking through a neighborhood is preferred! Go visit a park (Laurelhurst, Mt. Tabor, Forest Park, or many others) and wander through it. Grab some delicious food-- too many to list, but my current favorite is Pono Farm Soul Kitchen in the Hollywood district. Hop a bus and get a donut at Tonalli's on Alberta, then walk around (several book shops up there too!).  End your day by grabbing Japanese curry at Kalé, then stroll up to Powell's, because it's a good place to reinvigorate and inspire (plus it's open late!) 

Please finish these sentence starters: 

Reading is engrossing, life-giving, and something I always feel like I want more time for!

Picture books are the thing that first got me excited about art, and my new favorite format as an illustrator.

Mr. Schu, you should have asked me what do I want to be when I grow up? The answer: I don't know the exact title, but I know it involves making art and becoming a eccentric yet stylish old lady. I want to be all those ladies from the Advanced Style project!

"Imagine you’re a little girl. Your dad takes to you to planetarium shows on the college campus where he teaches. You love everything about the shows, from the silhouette of your town around the rim of the dome to the fact that the night sky somehow, miraculously, is brought indoors. You especially love listening to the astronomer’s voice as she guides you around the heavens. You decide you’re going to be an astronomer when you grow up!" -Deborah Underwood | Click here to read the full post.

"I so badly want my daughters and the young girls in my classroom to grow up believing that they can do anything in this world. It is very easy to see what society thinks girls should be, and it is not exactly what I’m hoping for my students and my kids." -Colby Sharp | Click here to read the full review. 

Borrow Interstellar Cinderella from your school or public library. Whenever possible, please support independent bookshops.