Book Nook - Axolotol-Ella

 Bestselling author Kate Messner has flipped the classic Cinderella story on its fin with a funny, empowering re-tail-ing in AXOLOTL-ELLA (on sale June 2) and features a confident heroine who's way too practical for glass slippers. Complemented with laugh-out-loud illustrations by award-winning illustrator Lian Cho, and filled with amusing axolotl facts, AXOLOTL-ELLA is destined to become a storytime favorite. If you would like to read more about the creation of Axolotl-Ella, the character and the book;  SLJ ran an interview with Kate and Lian!

Axolotl-Ella is a quick and clever salamander with a daring, deliciously ambitious dream. All she needs to do to make her dream a reality is to meet the Prince at the King’s Festival. So with a little bit of magic from the lake of the night, Ella makes her skin gleam and her gills glow--and conjures the perfect outfit for a fancy party! But the Prince talks a lot, and the magic wears off at midnight. Can Axolotl-Ella find a way to make her dream come true, or will she be stuck at the murky lake with her annoying stepsisters forever?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Kate Messner is passionately curious and has written more than seventy books for kids who wonder, too. Her titles include award-winning picture books like Over and Under the Snow and The Scariest Kitten in the World as well as bestselling novels for older readers like The Trouble with Heroes and Breakout. Kate also writes the popular History Smashers graphic nonfiction series and leads the multi-author team behind The Kids in Mrs. Z’s Class chapter books. She splits her time between Lake Champlain and South Florida.

 

ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR: Lian Cho is the author-illustrator of picture books including Oh, Olive! and the Society of Illustrators Silver Medal-winning Pig Town Party and Don’t Eat Eustace. She is also the illustrator of bestselling picture books such as Oh No, the Aunts are Here by Adam Rex and 100 Mighty Dragons All Named Broccoli by David LaRochelle. Over the years, Lian has lived in Taiwan, New Zealand, and New York. She now spends her time between Baltimore and Taiwan. In her spare time, Lian likes to draw funny comics about her life.