Keisha Vance

12. Food--fried chicken, corn muffins stuffed with baked apples, sweet potato pecan, potato chips
13. Polka dots
14. Magic Attic adventures

### Dislikes

1. Feeling ordinary
2. Prejudice
3. Racism
4. Show-offs
5. Snobs

### Career Goal

1. Veterinarian
2. Nurse
3. Paramedic
4. Teacher

### Relatives

Dad
Mom
Ashley (Sister)
Ronnie (brother)
Grandmother (Maternal)
Aunt Dione
Cousin Nikki (Maternal)
Aunt Marion (Maternal)
Uncle Joseph (Maternal)
Great Grandma Ruth (Maternal)
Uncle Bernard (Maternal)
Uncle Charles (Maternal)

*"It was incredible to open the trunk for the first time. I'd never seen so many beautiful clothes to dress up in! Every time we go back there's something new to check out. I tried to get Ellie to explain it all, but she just told us "the real magic is in you!"*

*Everybody says I'm pretty enthusiastic. It's true I have a lot of energy, and sometimes I even get carried away. But I can be serious too, serious about having fun! I'm trying to put my heart into everything I do-gymnastics, the church choir, volunteering at the nursing home. But I most like taking pictures of people-especially in funny poses!*

*I'm not always that thrilled about babysitting for my younger brother and sister. But I know my Mom and Dad are proud of me. Dad calls me "Pumpkin," and my Mom's been teaching me all about African customs and foods. One look at my bedroom and you'll know I love purple. The polka-dots on my t-shirt match my quilt. We even made purple an official club color!"*

**Introduced through Georgetown in 1995 with the official launch, she was first introduced in "The Secret of the Attic" by Sheri Cooper Sinykin. She was not included in the first prototype launch.**

## Appearance

Keisha is known for her long dark brown hair worn with fringe, brown eyes, and her cocoa-colored skin. She is often seen wearing purple, particularly lavender, along with other bright colors because they attract attention. Keisha is tall and slim like her mother.

## Personality & Interests

Keisha is described as enthusiastic. She is full of energy and puts her heart into everything she does. She acknowledges that sometimes she gets ahead of herself. She likes to have fun and she's pretty adventurous as well. Keisha is also very social with a good sense of humor.

Keisha has many talents and tends to do well at anything she tries. She is quite studious. She's a good student, is an expert at chess, and enjoys reading almost as much as Megan. One of Keisha's favorite books is *The Secret Garden*.

She has many possible future careers. She shows interest in becoming a veterinarian, a nurse, paramedic, or even a teacher. Keisha loves animals. She also enjoys photography. Throughout the series, Keisha shows a desire to be an important figure, causing her to show dissatisfaction with her ordinary existence at times.

Keisha is athletic and is good at most sports. She's considered "second to Alison". Her favorite sporty activities are cheer-leading and gymnastics. She's also on the school's basketball team.

She is all about fairness and has a strong sense of justice. She despises prejudice and racism. Keisha has experienced many incidents of racism, once when visiting her mother's college friend and another time when trying to pick up Ellie's prescription from the drugstore.

She is known to have natural leadership abilities. Her friends consider her to be regal. Yet, her friends consider her to be the easiest to get along with of all the girls. She's open-minded, understanding, and diplomatic.

Keisha is kind-hearted, compassionate, and likes helping others out. She volunteers at the local nursing home.

Keisha enjoys music and is gifted. She sings in the church choir and is considered to have "a strong singing voice". She can also play the piano. She loves all kinds of music and loves to dance.

Keisha loves history, and she especially loves learning about her ancestors. Her favorite moment in history is the Harlem Renaissance. She hopes to travel to Africa one day to learn even more about her background. Her least favorite moments in history involve fighting and wars, which she doesn't like.

Despite Keisha's open mind, she has been known to jump to conclusions about others rather quickly.

Keisha loves food. Her favorite dinner is fried chicken and corn muffins stuffed with baked apples. Her favorite cake is sweet potato pecan. Keisha's favorite snack is potato chips.

Her favorite color is Purple and her favorite pattern is Polka Dots.

Keisha, like all her friends, enjoys visiting her neighbor and good friend Ellie, as well as her magic attic. Keisha was the first to discover the trunk full of costumes. Her favorite color also became the Magic Attic Club's official color. She was the third member to have a solo adventure. Keisha shows interest in Ellie's voice lessons, and often visits with Ellie when upset or seeking advice.

Keisha is a member of The Magic Attic Club. The members consist of Heather, Megan, Alison, Rose, Jane, and Chloe. They share their attic adventures and are best friends. Keisha moved to town when she was five years old and became best friends with Megan and Alison. Keisha typically gets along with all of the members of the Magic Attic Club and likes to do everything with them, though she was initially distrustful of Rose due to Rose's standoffish and sarcastic nature. Her relationship with Jane and Chloe is unclear.

## Family & Background

Keisha was born May 20th. She is African American and she is very in touch with her culture. Keisha's family cooks traditional African and African American food, studies African and African American history, and celebrates Kwanzaa. She is the oldest in her family, so she's always stuck baby-sitting. Keisha lives right across the street from Rose and a few doors down from Alison and Ellie on Primrose Street. She moved to town when she was five years old due to her mother finding a new job as a nurse. It's unclear where she lived before moving. She attends Lincoln Elementary with her friends.

\*Trivia\*The MAC may live in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Alison was stated to be wearing a Philadelphia Flyers hat in The Jewel of the Sea Cruise. Not much is known about the year the stories take place, but the dates and times from the series line up with several years throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.

### **Main Family and Family Friends**

Below is a list of Keisha's "real" or "main" family and friends. On the MAC's adventures, they develop several alter lifestyles with different family members and friends.

***Dad***-His full name is Benjamin Vance. He works as a hospital administrator and was a volunteer paramedic at one time. He attended Howard University. He is good friends with Keisha's principal. He's interested in history and teaches Keisha about her background. He even knows about his wife's history. He takes Keisha to basketball games with him. He has a husky build and light brown hair, though the illustrations of him don't highlight these factors.

***Mom***-A delivery ward nurse who found a job that caused the family to move. She's tall and slim, like Keisha. She is good friends with Keisha's principal. She calls Keisha "Pumpkin". She teaches Keisha about African culture and history. It's uncertain whether she knows Ellie as well as Alison, Heather, and Megan's mothers, but she also quickly agrees to Keisha spending time and visiting with Ellie Goodwin after Keisha and her friends discover Ellie's key in the snow.

***Ashley***-Keisha's younger sister who is 5 years old. Keisha often has to babysit her. She loves to read and is really cute and friendly. She takes gymnastics with Keisha. She's in the "tumbling" group.

***Ronnie***-Ronnie is Keisha's 2-year-old brother. He looks most like Keisha's dad with a husky build and curly light brown hair. Keisha often has to babysit him. He calls Keisha "Kee-Kee". He's lively and sweet.

***Grandmother***-Keisha's grandmother who makes the best sweet potato pecan cake.

***Aunt Dione***-Keisha's aunt who braids Keisha's hair for the spring and summer, and is considered really good at it.

***Cousin Nikki***-Keisha's cousin from Ohio. She's a talented violinist who often likes to perform for people. Keisha didn't initially like her too much because she didn't seem friendly and seemed like a show off. But Keisha discovered her cousin is really shy and isn't used to a big family because she's an only child.

***Aunt Marion and Uncle Joseph***-Nikki's parents. They visit a few times a year from Ohio.

***Great Grandma Ruth***-She was good friends with Norma Jean, a famous woman who knew all the most interesting people in Harlem in the 1920s during the Harlem Renaissance.

***Uncle Bernard***-Keisha's Great-great Uncle. He was from Chicago. He was in the navy, became a teacher, and was a miser. He was known for his bad leg.

***Uncle Charles***-Often confused for Uncle Bernard.

***Older cousin***-Got married last year.

* Alison McCan
* Megan Ryder
* Heather Hardin
* Rose Hopkins
* Jane
* Chloe
* Ellie Goodwin

## Keisha's Stories w/ Collection

* The Secret of the Attic
* Three Cheers for Keisha
* Keisha The Fairy Snow Queen
* Keisha To the Rescue
* Keisha's Maze Mystery
* Keisha Leads the Way
* Trapped Beyond the Magic Attic
* The Ghost of Camp Whispering Pines
* Keisha Discovers Harlem
* The Jewel of the Sea Cruise
* The Mystery of the Pharaoh's Tomb
* Starter Outfits 2001
* Bedroom Sets