Dishes, Dancing, and Dreams – 4 Star Book Review

Welcome to one of the June 1st stops on the blog tour for the Kayla: A Modern-Day Princess Book Series by Deedee Cummings, organized by iRead Book Tours. Today’s post is a review of book two, but check out yesterday’s post for book one and come back tomorrow for book three!

Be sure to follow the rest of the tour for spotlights, reviews, and a giveaway! More on that at the end of this post.

Please note that this post contains affiliate links, which means there is no additional cost to you if you shop using my links, but I will earn a small percentage in commission. A program-specific disclaimer is at the bottom of this post.

About the Book

Kayla: A Modern-Day Princess
Dishes, Dancing, and Dreams
by Deedee Cummings

Published 1 June 2021
Make A Way Media

Genre: Children’s Fiction
Page Count: 29

The Kayla: A Modern-Day Princess series of #OWNVOICE books is for Dreamers and the Doers of all ages. This diverse picture book series is a heartwarming look at the importance of family, speaking our truth, dreaming freely, and knowing our worth. Book 2 is part of a five-part series that shines the spotlight on a little Black girl who never lets anything get in the way of her dreams.

Parents, Caregivers, and Educators: By investing in this series, you help every child see that Black and Brown girls can be leaders, princesses, and the stars of their own stories. Children need to read stories that include characters who look like them. Offering these types of books to young readers is an essential part of building self-esteem, cultivating empathy, encouraging tough conversations, and letting children of color know they matter.

The Kayla: A Modern-Day Princess series is inspired by real-life budding Broadway Star, Kayla Pecchioni: a young Black woman who has always lived her life by believing in herself while letting nothing get in the way of her dreams.

Make a Way Media

My Review

My Rating: 4 Stars

I was granted eARC access to Kayla: A Modern-Day Princess: Dishes, Dancing, and Dreams in exchange for an honest review as part of my participation in a blog tour for the series with iRead Book Tours. Thank you to all involved! My thoughts are my own and my review is honest.

In this sequel to Kayla’s original story, Kayla meets a new friend in her neighbourhood. Tommie’s parents have recently divorced and he moved to this neighbourhood with his father.

One again, the illustrations are beautiful, and the message in this story is important. No two families are alike, and you never know what someone is going through (as Kayla herself muses.) It’s important to have compassion for everyone. My critique of this story is that when Kayla has little revelation moments like that she phrases herself like an adult, not the little girl she is, and this might not jive with the little kids this book is written for.

About the Author

As a therapist, attorney, CEO of Make A Way Media, and author of fifteen children’s books, Deedee Cummings has a passion for ensuring equality, inclusion, and social justice for the next generation. Since her first book published in 2014, Cummings has been on a mission to help young dreamers and doers “see themselves” in the pages of the books they read.

Cummings has spent more than two decades working within the family therapy and support field, and much of her writing shares her experiences of working with kids in therapeutic foster care.

By the end of 2021, this #OWNVOICES author will have fifteen diverse children’s books to her credit, including the Rapid Release of her Kayla: A Modern-Day Princess five-book series. All fifteen of Cummings’ diverse picture, poetry, and workbooks for kids reflect her professional knowledge and love of life.

Cummings is also the founder and creator of the Louisville Book Festival, a literacy-based celebration in Louisville, KY, celebrated on October 22nd and 23rd, 2021.

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Giveaway Alert!

Win signed set of KAYLA: A MODERN-DAY PRINCESS Book Series (one winner) (USA only) (ends July 2)

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