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Kayla: A Modern-Day Princess: These Shoes Are Made for Dancing -- a Multicultural Children's Book Day Review

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Have you ever had one of those bad days? You know when you think the world is against you? We all have them--even kids. Today I get to share with you a book for young readers that deals with just that! It is the fourth book in the Kayla: A Modern-Day Princess Series. The book is These Shoes Are Made for Dancing by Deedee Cummings and illustrated by Charlene Mosley. The series is recommended for ages 4 to 8. (To see my reviews of some more of Deedee Cummings' books, click here.)



From the Publisher:

Kayla: A Modern-Day Princess--These Shoes Are Made For Dancing is the fourth book in a five-book #OWNVOICES series that follows the story of a little brown girl who loves musical theatre and never lets anything get in the way of her dreams. In These Shoes Are Made For Dancing, Kayla faces feelings of self-doubt and loss while finding new ways to remind herself of what is real and important in life. This feisty little dancer is determined to carve her own path as she continues to fall in love with the world of performing arts. The Kayla series was inspired by the author's daughter and Broadway actress, Kayla Pecchioni and is being produced as a musical. Parents and Teachers: Deedee 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. Using therapeutic techniques in her stories to teach coping skills, Cummings strives to lessen the stigma surrounding children and adults suffering in silence from mental health issues. As a family therapist, many of her tried-and-true therapy techniques are skillfully woven into this story to show young readers gentle ways to cope and find inner peace.

From Me:

First, I love how Deedee gives the young readers ways to cope with those bad days. I also love how Kayla's mother is not willing to put up with her daughter not being given the same opportunities as the other kids in the dance class. The messages in this book are strong and important for every child. The book is well written and tells the story as well as relating it to everyday life for anyone. 

The story shares about Kayla beginning to dance. Her teacher is tough, and she feels a bit out of place since she is the only dancer where the nude tights don't match her skin. She works hard but does not seem to get many chances. One day her mother asks to speak to the instructor privately. Kayla hears the conversation, and her mother is discussing the unfair treatment of Kayla. The mother takes Kayla away that day and tells her to always let her know when she is being treated so unfairly. Kayla questions this since she has been told not to whine or tattle. Her mother explains the difference between a real injustice and whine and tattling. They find a new place for dance lessons, and it is much better.

In the beginning of the book Kayla goes to see a Broadway show with her grandmother. It shares how special the trip is to Kayla. Kayla keeps the ticket stub and daydreams of the day when she needs to cheer herself up. At the end of the book is a craft activity to make an anchor and happy memories box. I made one for Hazel. We had an old wooden box that I got years ago and haven't used. I printed out photos of Hazel, and what I thought would be happy memories for her. I asked her to sort them so she would pick her favorites. I glued them to the box.


Now she can put things that are happy memories inside the box. If you don't have a fancy wooden box, a shoe box will work. Or a simple wooden box from a craft store could be painted. Here is a box Hazel made when she was young at a birthday party.


Once the box has items in it, when Hazel is having a bad day, she can look inside or even just look at the photos on the outside. These happy memories are anchors to help her remember the better times! The book does a wonderful job with explaining how to help oneself out of a bad day as well as explaining inequities. I actually had Hazel read it because I knew it would resonate with her.  I hope you will check it out. 

About Multicultural Children's Book Day:



Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2022 (1/28/22) is in its 9th year! This non-profit children’s literacy initiative was founded by Valarie Budayr and Mia Wenjen; two diverse book-loving moms who saw a need to shine the spotlight on all of the multicultural books and authors on the market while also working to get those books into the hands of young readers and educators.

MCBD’s mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in homes and school bookshelves. Read about our Mission & History HERE.

MCBD 2022 is honored to be Supported by these Medallion Sponsors!

SUPER PLATINUM: Make A Way Media

PLATINUM: Language Lizard

GOLD: Barefoot Books, KidLitTV, Candlewick, Capstone, Abrams Books

SILVER: Pack-n-Go Girls, Charlotte Riggle, Kimberly Gordon Biddle  

BRONZE: Carole P. Roman, Patrice McLaurin, Dyesha and Triesha McCants/McCants Squared, Redfin.com, Redfin Canada, Redfin Mortgage, Redfin/Title Forward, Create & Educate, Star Bright Books, Vivian Kirkfield, Dr. Eleanor Wint, Kind World Publishing, Snowflake Stories, Lisa Wee, SONGJU MA, Melissa Stoller, J.C. Kato and J.C.², Crystel Patterson, Audrey Press, Pragmaticmom, TimTimTom, Wisdom Tales 

MCBD 2022 is honored to be Supported by these Author Sponsors!

Charlene Mosley (official MCBD2022 Poster Creator)
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Alva Sachs, Brianna Carter, Ebony Zay Zay, Rita Bhandari, Gwen Jackson, Lois Petren/The 5 Enchanted Mermaids, Valerie Williams-Sanchez and Valorena Publishing, Josh Funk, Afsaneh Moradian, Eugenia Chu, Maritza Martínez Mejía, Diana Huang, Kathleen Burkinshaw, CultureGroove, Sandra Elaine Scott, Dorena Williamson, Veronica Appleton, Alejandra Domenzain, Lauren Muskovitz and Sandfish Publishing, Tonya Duncan Ellis, Kimberly Lee, Susan Schaefer Bernardo & Illustrator Courtenay Fletcher, Nancy Tupper Ling, Winsome Hudson-Bingham, Amanda Hsiung-Blodgett, Sivan Hong, Michael Genhart, Debbie Dadey, Elizabeth Cureton, Stephanie Wildman, Maryann Jacob, Sherri Maret, Rochelle Melander, Dia Mixon, Kiyanda and Benjamin Young, Shereen Rahming, Linda Thornburg and Katherine Archer,  Rebecca Flansburg and BA Norrgard , Maxine Schur  Natalie McDonald-Perkins

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Check out MCBD's Multicultural Books for Kids Pinterest Board!

FREE RESOURCES from Multicultural Children’s Book Day

Diversity Book Lists & Activities for Teachers and Parents

Homeschool Diverse Kidlit Booklist & Activity Kit

FREE Teacher Classroom Activism and Activists Kit

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FREE Teacher Classroom Kindness Kit

FREE Teacher Classroom Physical and Developmental Challenges Kit

FREE Teacher Classroom Poverty Kit

FREE Homeschool Diverse Kidlit Booklist & Activity Kit

FREE Teacher Classroom Raising Awareness on Systemic Racism in America Classroom Kit

Gallery of Our Free Posters

FREE Diversity Book for Classrooms Program

Join us on Friday, Jan 29, 2021, at 9 pm EST for the 8th annual Multicultural Children's Book Day Twitter Party! Be sure and follow MCBD and Make A Way Media on Twitter!


This epically fun and fast-paced hour includes multicultural book discussions, addressing timely issues, diverse book recommendations, & reading ideas.

We will be giving away an 8-Book Bundle every 5 minutes plus Bonus Prizes as well! *** US and Global participants welcome. **

Follow the hashtag #ReadYourWorld to join the conversation, connect with like-minded parts, authors, publishers, educators, organizations, and librarians. See you all very soon on Twitter!

Hashtag: Don’t forget to connect with us on social media and be sure and look for/use our official hashtag #ReadYourWorld.