Interstellar Cinderella Quarantined
Author Deborah Underwood shares why censorship won't stop her from creating empowering characters for young readers.
Once upon a planetoid, a stellar story about a smart, independent heroine was banned by the Department of Defense.
Serving 67,000 students, the US Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) is responsible for educating the children of active-duty and civilian military personnel. They operate 161 schools across the country and abroad.
In an effort to comply with several Executive Orders, the DoDEA instructed school administrators and staff to remove all books promoting “gender ideology” and “divisive concepts” from circulation. This included topics such as slavery, civil rights, race, ethnicity, immigration, diversity, sexual orientation and gender identity.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed a lawsuit on behalf of twelve students who attend DoDEA schools, claiming the ban violates their First Amendment right to information. While the complete list of 555 titles has not been disclosed by the DoDEA, the ACLU has released a list of 200 books that were quarantined. Interstellar Cinderella, written by Deborah Underwood and illustrated by Meg Hunt, is one of the many books on that list.
Interstellar Cinderella, our featured book for July, is a reimagining of the classic princess story with an intergalactic twist. Cinderella dreams of becoming a spaceship mechanic. When the Prince’s ship breaks down on the way to the antigravity ball, Cinderella comes to his rescue and proves that dreams do come true.
We reached out to the book’s author, Deborah Underwood, to get her perspective on the recent wave of censorship and learn more about what inspired her to write a new take on princess stories.
Thank you so much for chatting with us! We’d love to hear your origin story. What led you to start writing children’s books?
Thanks for having me! I tried all sorts of writing in my post-college life: I sold some magazine articles, I wrote screenplays no one wanted to buy, I wrote a terrible romance novel which never sold (I remember an editor saying that the character changing dresses didn’t count as character development; ouch!), I wrote puzzles for one of the big puzzle magazines, and I even sold a few greeting cards.
It wasn’t till 2001, after I lost my corporate job, that I realized the books I love most are children’s books. When I was a kid, I read all the time, and my childhood favorites still hold an important place in my heart. It seems silly now that it took me so long to figure out I should be writing for kids.
Interstellar Cinderella is part of a three book series where you’ve taken classic princess tales and transformed them into space-faring adventures. What gave you the idea for this retelling?
I actually remember the exact moment! A friend of mine performs theater for kids, and he did a show set in space. We were goofing around trying to think of possible sequels for his show. I heard the words “Interstellar Cinderella” come out of my mouth, and froze. I had a big piece of paper for book brainstorming hanging on my bedroom door, and I raced over and scribbled the title down.
It seemed like such an obvious idea that I figured someone had already written the book. I was delighted when I dug around online and didn’t find anything in existence that resembled what I wanted to write.
We need to issue a spoiler alert for this question. I think the exact moment we fell in love with Interstellar Cinderella was when she chose her dream job over the Prince’s marriage proposal. Can you tell us more about your decision to change the classic Cinderella story in that way?
I grew up in a small town with one indoor movie theater, so seeing movies was rare for me when I was a kid. But I got to know the Disney princess stories through the movie soundtrack LPs, which each came packaged with a large-format picture storybook retelling.
Much as I loved them, those stories seem problematic to me now. Cinderella dreams of marrying a prince, then waits around for someone to bring her a shoe. Sleeping Beauty spends the most exciting part of her story asleep. Snow White? She's asleep, too.
I wanted kids to be able to enjoy those stories, but with protagonists who have agency, who control their own fates, and who have dreams of their own that don’t require marriage.
What do you hope young readers take away from your version of these stories?
I hope they take away the fact that princesses—and all kids!—can be smart and capable and compassionate, and that they don’t need to sit around waiting for someone else to make their dreams come true.
What was your reaction to the news that Interstellar Cinderella was recently pulled from shelves at Department of Defense Schools?
It’s hard to even articulate my reaction. Dumbstruck? I would love to hear the justification from whomever made up the list.
I was shocked at first, but the more I thought about it, the angrier I got. Some call it a badge of honor to have a banned book. But what it actually means is that some kids won’t have access to your book, and that librarians and booksellers could land in serious trouble for handing it to kids.
Writers work so hard on our books because we care deeply about children. It’s absurd and infuriating that some adult deems a book like Interstellar Cinderella to be harmful or inappropriate.
Your book Ogilvy has also faced bans. How has the rise in censorship impacted you as an author?
I’m lucky in that I haven’t had school visits cancelled, or been instructed by schools to talk about X book but not to mention Y book. Friends who write middle grade and young adult books have, however, experienced those things.
It’s beyond distressing to think that some kids don't have access to books they want, and in some cases, books they desperately need. The people who enact bans are the ones harming children.
I don’t write about anything that I consider to be controversial. I write about kindness and inclusion and compassion and smart girls who control their own destinies and bunnies who speak out against silly rules. I’m going to keep writing what I write.
You’ve written so many wonderful children’s books in addition to Interstellar Cinderella and Ogilvy. Here Comes Valentine Cat and Walrus in the Bathtub are two favorites in our house. What can readers look forward to next?
I’m super-excited about FAIRY TALE FIXERS: CINDERELLA, my first graphic novel (graphic chapter book, really), illustrated by the wonderful Jorge Lacera! It comes out in August and is available for pre-order now.
A hard-boiled-detective-like rat, who’s actually a fairy, gets hired to step into the story of Cinderella by a mouse who’s losing sleep because of all the yelling in Cinderella’s house (that rotten stepfamily!). After quite a bit of chaos, the two of them help Cinderella find her happily ever after—just not the one readers might expect.
The book still makes me laugh, even after all the time we spent working on it. I hope kids love it!
It is officially on our TBR list and we can’t wait to read it! Thank you so much for sharing your perspective and inspiration with us.
Read Along With Us
Our kids love Interstellar Cinderella and the entire intergalactic series. Pick up a copy at your local bookstore or library to read with us in July and pre-order your copy of Fairy Tale Fixers: Cinderella.
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