Keller, Shana. CeeCee: Underground Railroad Cinderella. Laura Freeman, Illus. Charlesbridge, 08/2025. [32]pp. Picture Book. Trade $18.99. 978-1-62354-389-1. GRADES 1–4. UNSATISFACTORY.
Keller presents a tale that is neither a Cinderella story nor an effective depiction of the Underground Railroad; combining them trivializes the horrors an enslaved child would have experienced. CeeCee’s separation from her mother is shown in the first two spreads of the book. After that, the story becomes more like a traditional Cinderella tale, with the blue-eyed and pale enslavers being unkind to CeeCee, whose hair is black and whose skin is pale brown. CeeCee becomes determined to sew a fine dress and coat for herself when she conflates an overheard Cinderella story with information about the “knight-prince” Moses who can take her North and save her from being enslaved—but this burdens the few Cinderella attributes past their strength. Freeman’s evocative illustrations are the strongest part of the story, but their very richness – the flowing fabric of the dress CeeCee sews, the flaky biscuit she enjoys in the kitchen, the books CeeCee reads when she can – softens the impact on readers of experiencing the life of an enslaved child separated from her mother. Children might need an adult to help them understand the identity of the “prince” at the end of the story and also to provide more accurate depictions of life while enslaved.
Alli Angell—Benicia Public Library