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    Axolotl-Ella

    A Sort-of Cinderella Story

    Author Kate Messner
    Illustrated by Lian Cho
    Hardcover
    $18.99 US
    Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed | Ten Speed Young Readers
    8-1/2"W x 11"H | 20 oz | 24 per carton
    On sale Jun 02, 2026 | 40 Pages | 9780593837993
    Age 5-8 years | Grades K-3
    Add to cart Add to list Exam Copies

    Cinderella has never been so adorable--or amphibious!--as in this fractured fairytale picture book by New York Times bestselling author Kate Messner, with art by award-winning illustrator Lian Cho.

    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?

    Bestselling author Kate Messner has created a funny, empowering retelling of the Cinderella story with 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.
    “With an irreverent, chart-your-own-course spirit, it’s a slippery, smart, and subversive story that wriggles free of most fairy tale expectations.”—Publishers Weekly
    Kate Messner is passionately curious and writes books that encourage kids to wonder, too. Her titles include award-winning picture books, like Over and Under the Snow; novels, like Breakout and Chirp; the Fergus and Zeke easy reader series and the popular Ranger in Time chapter books; and works of nonfiction with a focus on nature and history. She lives on Lake Champlain with her family. View titles by Kate Messner
    Lian Cho has created artwork for Sesame Workshop and the New Yorker, and illustrated several critically acclaimed picture books, including It Began with Lemonade and The Oboe Goes Boom Boom Boom. Lian grew up in Taiwan and New Zealand, and now lives in Brooklyn, New York. She is a graduate of the School of Visual Arts in New York City, is a Society of Illustrators Student Competition Finalist, and received the Rhodes Family Award for Achievement in Illustration. View titles by Lian Cho

    Discussion Guide for Axolotl-Ella

    Provides questions, discussion topics, suggested reading lists, introductions and/or author Q&As, which are intended to enhance reading groups’ experiences.

    (Please note: the guide displayed here is the most recently uploaded version; while unlikely, any page citation discrepancies between the guide and book is likely due to pagination differences between a book’s different formats.)

    Read More

    About

    Cinderella has never been so adorable--or amphibious!--as in this fractured fairytale picture book by New York Times bestselling author Kate Messner, with art by award-winning illustrator Lian Cho.

    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?

    Bestselling author Kate Messner has created a funny, empowering retelling of the Cinderella story with 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.

    Praise

    “With an irreverent, chart-your-own-course spirit, it’s a slippery, smart, and subversive story that wriggles free of most fairy tale expectations.”—Publishers Weekly

    Author

    Kate Messner is passionately curious and writes books that encourage kids to wonder, too. Her titles include award-winning picture books, like Over and Under the Snow; novels, like Breakout and Chirp; the Fergus and Zeke easy reader series and the popular Ranger in Time chapter books; and works of nonfiction with a focus on nature and history. She lives on Lake Champlain with her family. View titles by Kate Messner
    Lian Cho has created artwork for Sesame Workshop and the New Yorker, and illustrated several critically acclaimed picture books, including It Began with Lemonade and The Oboe Goes Boom Boom Boom. Lian grew up in Taiwan and New Zealand, and now lives in Brooklyn, New York. She is a graduate of the School of Visual Arts in New York City, is a Society of Illustrators Student Competition Finalist, and received the Rhodes Family Award for Achievement in Illustration. View titles by Lian Cho

    Additional Materials

    Discussion Guide for Axolotl-Ella

    Provides questions, discussion topics, suggested reading lists, introductions and/or author Q&As, which are intended to enhance reading groups’ experiences.

    (Please note: the guide displayed here is the most recently uploaded version; while unlikely, any page citation discrepancies between the guide and book is likely due to pagination differences between a book’s different formats.)

    Read More

    Other Books by this Author

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