Item: Kayla: A Modern-Day Princess: Tough as Tulle
Rating: 4
Author: Gina

Kayla: Modern-Day Princess: Tough as Tulle by Deedee Cummings | Children’s Book Review

Thank you to the author, publisher, & Lauren at iRead for providing me the information for this tour.

Kayla: Modern-Day Princess: Tough as Tulle | Review

Kayla: A Modern-Day Princess: Tough as Tulle by Deedee Cummings
Published by Make A Way Media on 2021
Genres: Educational, Fiction, Family Life, Friendship, Self-Esteem, Own Voices
Format: eBook, Paperback

This beautiful diverse picture book is a heartwarming story about family matters, role models, dreams, gender diversity, and discovering a determination for growth.

As the third book in a five-book #OWNVOICES series, Kayla: A Modern-Day Princess shines the spotlight on the evolving life of a little brown girl who loves musical theatre and never lets anything get in the way of her dreams.

Kayla series was inspired by the author’s own daughter and Broadway actress, Kayla Pecchioni.

Add to Goodreads

Source: iRead Book Tours, Received from the author or publisher for review.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Purchase Links for Kayla: Modern-Day Princess: Tough as Tulle by Deedee Cummings

Coming Soon!!

Available now through Make-a-Way Media

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My thoughts on Kayla: Modern-Day Princess: Tough as Tulle

Deedee Cummings is back with the third installment in the Kayla: Modern-Day Princess series.

In Tough as Tulle, Kayla is worried about her friends that don’t like themselves. She writes a letter in her journal to her grandmother in Heaven asking for advice.

Everything different is special except for people. Why don’t other people love the color of their skin, their hair, their body, etc. Why is being different a bad thing for people?

When her brother claims girls can’t play football, Kayla wants to prove him wrong. Little do they know the surprise Kayla’s friend Tommie has in store for them.

This book introduces the concept of gender bias, self-esteem, and more. As an #OwnVoices series, Kayla is learning and teaching more to children every day.

Since the book hasn’t been released yet, I am unsure of the age group this book is targeting but I feel like it’s a little older than the previous two books. Kayla’s language skills seem a bit older and she is journaling now.

The book has a nice, quick pace and the illustrations are spot-on.

I received a copy of the book for the tour. This review is my honest, unbiased opinion.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

About Deedee Cummings

deedee-cummings-author-branding-image_orig

Deedee Cummings is a professional dreamer, author of eighteen books, therapist, attorney, and mom from Louisville, Kentucky.

Cummings founded Make A Way Media in 2014 after struggling to find books with characters who looked like her own children and an extreme lack of stories that reflected their life experiences. Books published by Make A Way focus on hope, diversity, social justice, and therapeutic skills for children and adults. Her work has been featured in HuffPost, Forbes, NPR, USA Today, Essence Magazine, Psych Central, Well+Good, and The EveryGirl, among other media outlets.

In 2021, Governor Andy Beshear appointed her to the Kentucky Early Childhood Advisory Council, acknowledging her decades-long service to the children and families of Kentucky.

Deedee is also the founder of The Louisville Book Festival, which celebrates its fifth year in 2024 and hosts over 150 authors and presenters from all over the country. She was inspired to work to highlight and celebrate a culture of reading in her community after working as an in-home therapist and visiting the homes of children who had no books.

Cummings believes literacy is a fundamental human right. Her work highlights inspiring messages that remind us all that it is never too late to begin again. She is currently working to adapt her latest children’s series, inspired by the life of her daughter, Kayla Pecchioni (a Broadway actress), to a Broadway musical. Deedee recently founded the Make A Way Mindset program to teach the unshakable mindset she has developed as an entrepreneur of thirty years.

Her latest book, How to Dream, is her first book written for adults and was released in October 2024.