CeeCee
Shana Keller, author
Shana Keller is the author of several picture books. She says the day she got her library card was more exciting than the day she got her driver's license. She has traveled her whole life, and has lived all over the US and in Europe, too. When Shana's not writing, she loves to practice jiujitsu, run half-marathons, and read. Shana lives in North Carolina.
Read more about Shana.
Laura Freeman, illustrator
Laura Freeman has illustrated more than twenty children's books, including Follow Chester!: A College Football Team Fights Racism and Makes History; Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race (a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor book and NAACP Image Award Outstanding Literary Work for Children); the Nikki & Deja series; and Fancy Party Gowns: The Story of Fashion Designer Ann Cole Lowe. Her art can be found on a wide range of products, from dishes to textiles to greeting cards. Laura is originally from New York City and now lives in Atlanta with her husband and two children.
Read more about Laura.
- A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selection
School Library Journal, starred review
A brave overlay of a thought-provoking retelling of the Cinderella story, this does not arrive at a conventional fairy-tale ending, but something far better: the young heroine finds a pathway to freedom. CeeCee, who is Black, only has a scrap of paper with her true name on it that her mother gave her before they were separated by the cruel conditions of slavery. CeeCee grows up in Maryland, enslaved by a white family with two girls who treat her very poorly in wicked stepsister fashion. Digital illustrations effectively capture CeeCee’s stoicism, showing the warmth of the kitchen and the hardship of the attic where she is locked after she is caught trying to read. She repeatedly dreams of being rescued by a prince, but it is Binty, the cook, and her own resourcefulness that guide her to make a gown and coat suitable for her escape. When the time of CeeCee’s liberation arrives, safety comes from a different version of royalty—Harriet Tubman. Educators will love this opportunity to show the ongoing merits of the old tales: as vehicles for lessons, history, and metaphors in a guide to life. Readers looking for a straightforward retelling of Cinderella will be rewarded instead with a tale rich in depth as they root for CeeCee. Visually appealing illustrations feature dark shadows and effective use of light to depict CeeCee’s bravery as well as her persistent humanity in an inhumane situation. VERDICT With rich language and a complex subject matter deftly touched on throughout, this is suitable for intermediate students; it’s no fairy tale, but a retelling that amplifies courage and perseverance in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges.
A familiar fairy tale is given a historical spin. An enslaved Black girl dubbed CeeCee (her real name is a “secret…kept close to her heart”) toils endlessly for the Townsends, a cruel white family who own a plantation in Maryland. She’s prohibited from reading, but as she overhears the stories the children are learning to read, she’s inspired, and she begins to yearn for more. She faces an uphill battle; whenever Mrs. Townsend notices CeeCee so much as glancing at the pages of a book, she locks the girl in the mouse-infested attic. But her hopes are sustained by Binty, the cook, who plays the role of fairy godmother in this grounded retelling of “Cinderella.” As CeeCee falls asleep one night, Binty’s tales of Moses, a savior whom enslaved people follow to freedom, blend with her fantasies of Cinderella’s prince (portrayed as a Black man wearing a crown and kente cloth), and she awakens determined to escape to the North. Brimming with warmth, Freeman’s full-color digital illustrations depict the freckle-faced young protagonist’s melancholy in heartbreaking detail, while her vivid use of pattern and textures gives the visuals an almost three-dimensional, utterly immersive feel. Layering together references to the beloved fairy tale, Christian theology, and history, Keller celebrates the power of stories while paying tribute to the courage of all those who endured chattel enslavement. Rewarding, potent, and wholly original.
In riveting prose, Keller pens an engaging “Cinderella” variation about a girl, enslaved in Maryland, for whom layered stories offer freedom. When the cruel, pale-skinned daughters of CeeCee’s enslavers begin tutoring, brown-skinned CeeCee is beaten and locked away for even staring at a book’s pages. But household cook Binty encourages the girl and shares a tale of “an underground, secret savior who helped free enslaved people—a knight named Moses.” The story melds in CeeCee’s dreams with “Cinderella,” and she awakens with a plan to head north, for which she’ll need a gown, a pair of gloves, and a fitting coat, objects she painstakingly acquires. Binty, in the fairy godmother role, supplies the child with an old pocket watch: “You must get to the river by midnight. Moses will be there.” And it’s by the river that the youth reveals her true name—written on a slip of paper by her mother—before learning Moses’s real identity and setting forward to freedom. Freeman blends soft textures and vibrant colors to render largely domestic scenes in this immersive tribute to determination, community alliance, and self-knowledge. Contextualizing notes conclude.
Foreword Reviews
The Cinderella story is retold through the lens of the Underground Railroad in this inspirational picture book about legacy, courage, and hope. CeeCee is not her real name, but it’s what the Townsend family calls her on the plantation where she works. Forbidden from learning with the Townsend daughters, CeeCee teaches herself in secret and soaks up stories from Binty, the cook. One story is not a story at all, however, and an unlikely prince appears to whisk CeeCee safely to the North.
Children's Literature
Living as a slave in Maryland is not easy for CeeCee, a young girl who has been left without her mother in a home owned by an unpleasant and disrespectful white family. Antagonized by the two daughters living in the house, CeeCee must constantly tame her emotions and her features even as the girls frequently provoke her. Despite her difficulties, however, CeeCee is determined to learn how to read the stories she overhears, although she is often punished for her efforts. The story of Cinderella gives CeeCee an important and risky idea, which requires patience and courage for her to see her mission through to its conclusion. This retelling of the Cinderella story focuses on a young girl living in the confines of slavery. Robust, narrative-style text recounts CeeCee's tale, and detailed, emotion-rich illustrations enhance the storytelling. Much like a fairy tale in its design, the story unfolds from CeeCee's perspective, describing both her situation and her emotions alongside each plot point that occurs. Throughout the book, names are a recurring point of discussion, highlighting the fact that enslaved people were often required to use different names than those bestowed upon them at their birth. Captivating illustrations appear throughout the book and primarily feature people, utilizing somber tones to reflect both CeeCee's enslavement and the darkness required for her intended plan. Readers of all ages will be riveted by the imagery, and the story itself will resonate widely, as well. End matter includes curated information about Harriet Tubman, fairy tales, and the importance of names for continued learning. Best suited for early elementary school-aged readers due to its length, this book is a powerful addition to library collections for young readers.
Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-62354-389-1
Ages: 4–8
Page count: 32
11 x 9
Publication date: August 12, 2025
