Axolotl-Ella

Out June 02 2026 from Penguin Random House
Written by Kate Messner

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.