Hope In the Nick of Time

Author Deedee Cummings

Deedee Cummings is a professional dreamer. She is also an author, 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, she was appointed to the Kentucky Early Childhood Advisory Council by Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, and reappointed to a second term in 2025, acknowledging her decades-long service to the children and families of Kentucky. Cummings is also the founder of The Louisville Book Festival. 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 homes of children who had no books. Cummings believes literacy is a fundamental human right. Her work highlights inspiring messages that remind us all it is never too late to begin again.

Illustrator Charlene Mosley

Charlene is a German-American fine artist and illustrator based in San Diego with a bachelor’s degree in Art from San Diego State University. She has traveled worldwide to create art and to immerse herself into different cultures. Charlene has illustrated various award-winning children’s books and other literary works. Creating illustrations for children’s books has been one of the artist’s favorite things to do. Every time she reads a new manuscript, it gives her imagination the freedom to embark on another colorful journey of exploration and discovery. Besides being an illustrator, Charlene is also a muralist and fine artist.

Reviews

Such a precious story

My little girl loves this story. She keeps asking me to read it to her over and over again. You can tell that the imagery and the words make her happy. She says, “Hope, mama.” Thank you so much for this beautiful story! We love it and will be getting the first two books in the series soon.

-Stephanie Puckett

A must buy!!

Phenomenal book! I enjoyed reading this with my nieces and just such an amazing message!!

-Ylvonta Smith

Book of Hope

Hope in the Nick of Time is a great, uplifting read. My kids enjoyed the story and illustrations from beginning to end. If you’re looking for a book with a great reminder to never give up and keep believing this is the book you should get!

-Raymond K. Duncan II

A heartwarming story about resilience, kindness, and the quiet power of hope, Hope in the Nick of Time reminds readers young and old that even on the hardest days, goodness is all around us —if we know how to look—and thanks to Deedee Cummings we will.

-Angie Andriot

In our world, hope can feel bleak, but Deedee Cummings’ Hope In the Nick of Time, is a vibrant and touching reminder for us to look beyond our circumstances to see where greatness exists. Hope lives in strangers helping others, and it exists in Nick, who Santa prompts to find his ‘hoping skill’. Deedee encourages readers to find their own ‘hoping skill’ through kind acts, positive thinking, and asking for assistance. Hope In the Nick of Time is a wonderful reminder that while the world can often feel tough, it is our actions that bring out its beauty. This is a great read for the holidays and beyond.

-Brittany J. Thurman

As a family court judge, I witness far too many young lives weighed down by stress, instability, and a loss of innocence far too early. I see children who feel invisible, unheard, and, far too often, hopeless. That’s why Hope In the Nick of Time is not just a children’s book—it’s an intervention. A lifeline. A quiet, powerful tool of healing and perspective.

Deedee Cummings’ story reminds children that hope is a skill they can learn. That frustration, sadness, and fear are real—but they are not the end. Nick’s journey through New York City is beautifully symbolic of what so many children in our courts experience: feeling lost, overwhelmed, and alone. Yet, through small moments of kindness and reflection, Nick learns how to shift his view. And that’s what we hope for every child who comes before us—to learn that their circumstances do not define their worth or their future. Books like this don’t just entertain. They

educate. They plant seeds of resilience. They make a child feel seen in a world that often overlooks them. I would recommend this book not only to families, but to every courtroom, therapist’s office, school counselor’s bookshelf, and foster care agency in the country. Hope In the Nick of Time helps families and communities have the conversations our children are waiting on us to initiate.

– The Honorable Derwin Webb