Keisha Vance is one of the founding members of the Magic Attic Club.
Keisha was introduced through Georgetown Collection in 1995 with the official launch, and debuted in The Secret of the Attic by Sheri Cooper Sinykin. While not included in the 1994 soft launch, she was included by the time of the full launch and remained through the full run of the line.
Appearance[]
Keisha is African American. She has long dark hair with bangs (fringe), brown eyes, and dark brown skin often described as "cocoa-colored." She is often shown wearing purple (particularly lavender) and prefers them along with other bright colors because they attract attention. Keisha is tall and slim like her mother.
Personality, Interests, and Background[]
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 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 and Background[]
Keisha moved to town when she was five years old and became best friends with Megan and Alison.
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. Keisha is the oldest child in her family with two younger siblings, 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.
Main Family and Family 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 Niki: 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 Keisha considered her unfriendly and seemed like a show off, but later realizes 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 along with Niki.
- 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: Stated to have gotten married last year.
- Great Aunt Bess: Keisha describes her as very old and considered Ellie to look as old as she does.
Friends[]
- Alison McCann
- Megan Ryder
- Heather Hardin
- Rose Hopkins
- Jane (implied)
- Chloe (implied)
- Ellie Goodwin
Adventure Friends and Family[]
On the MAC's adventures, they are connected to other people in their alternate identities, which result in other family members and friends in those places.
Keisha's Stories[]
Keisha stars in or is part of the following stories:
Individual Adventures[]
- Three Cheers for Keisha
- Keisha The Fairy Snow Queen
- Keisha to the Rescue
- Keisha's Maze Mystery
- Keisha Leads the Way
- Keisha Discovers Harlem
Group Adventures[]
- The Secret of the Mirror (Unreleased)
- The Secret of the Attic
- Trapped Beyond the Magic Attic
- The Ghost of Camp Whispering Pines
- The Jewel of the Sea Cruise
- The Mystery of the Pharaoh's Tomb (Unreleased)
- The Adventure Begins
Keisha's Collection[]
- See: Keisha's Collection
The following items are in her collection or include her:
Catalog Quotes[]
"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!"
| Members of the Magic Attic Club | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heather Hardin | Megan Ryder | Alison McCann | Keisha Vance | Rose Hopkins |