With themes of racial and gender diversity woven naturally throughout this story, children are reminded that the world is richer when everyone is free to be exactly who they are.
Age Range: 5-8 years
Grade Range: K-5
Publication Date: June 28, 2021
Page Count: 42
Kayla: A Modern-Day Princess–Tough As Tulle (Book 3)
Paperback
$11.95
Description
This is the third book in the five-book Kayla: A Modern-Day Princess series. This story continues the journey of Kayla, a spirited little girl with a big love for musical theater and a refusal to let obstacles stand in the way of her dreams. Inspired by the author’s own daughter, Broadway actress Kayla Pecchioni, the series celebrates confidence, creativity, and the power of believing in yourself.
In this book, readers discover the importance of kindness, acceptance, and honoring both their own identity and the uniqueness of others. With themes of racial and gender diversity woven naturally throughout the story, children are reminded that the world is richer when everyone is free to be exactly who they are.
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.
Awards:
Purple Dragonfly Award Winner
#1 new release in “Children’s Multigenerational Families”
#1 new release in “Children’s Multicultural Stories”
Reviews:
Wonderful Story!
Another great book in this series! I am thoroughly enjoying these stories and all of the wonderful lessons to be learned through them. These books have a little something in them that every one can relate to! The illustrations are so beautiful and do a wonderful job keeping you engaged in the story! We are all special and made so beautifully as Kayla lets us know in these books!
-Ashley Price
Favorite book so far. Love the story twist!
I love book 3 in this series. My favorite in the series so far. I feel like this series is exactly what the world needs right now. Everyone needs a little more kindness and a little more empathy. I love Princess Kayla!
A much needed reminder that we are all special!
This book truly exceeded my expectations from the message to the illustrations. Even as an adult, I was reminded that no matter how different we are, we are all special. The author gracefully shared how being unique and different is something to be proud of. That kids should love and embrace who they are because their differences make them special. After reading my daughter and I were able to share things that people may see as “different” about ourselves and how we could learn to fully embrace those things and love those despite what other people may think.
-Katrice Baughman
Great book about being yourself!
This is a great book about self esteem and being happy with who you are. It also teaches the acceptance of others no matter how different they are from you. A lot of us seem to have struggles of just being ourselves and happy in our own skin, even as adults. We may feel weird or different, but this helps kids know that it is okay to be weird and different and just to be yourself and to be happy. This is a very good book. Especially for the world that we are living in today. I definitely recommend it for kids of all ages!
Important Message for Kids of All Ages
Kayla: A Modern-Day Princess Tough As Tulle teaches readers to be authentically themselves! The story not only centers around being true to yourself, but also models positive self-talk, gender identities, and looking to our ancestors for answers. The story does a great job of emphasizing these important messages so readers can not only think about these topics, but also have conversations centered around inclusivity and self-identity. Though the book has a lot of text per page, it also has beautiful artwork, all of which are definitely suitable for children ages 4-10 (as suggested by the publishers).
Very entertaining book with important messages for kids.
This is the third book in the Kayla series and so far I think it is the best. The Tommie surprise was very cool. I think this is different from your average kid’s story. I like how Deedee incorporates issues kids struggle with, like self esteem and being self conscious. This is a feel-good book that my little girl can read over and over. I really enjoy the author and look forward to the next two books in the series.
-A.M.I.
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