For the third time, Make A Way Media is back as a Super Platinum Sponsor for Multicultural Children’s Book Day; an epic online and offline event committed to raising awareness for the importance of diversity in children’s literature!
Deedee Cummings is a therapist, attorney, CEO of Make A Way Media, and author of fifteen diverse books for children. She has a passion for ensuring equality, inclusion, and social justice for the next generation and has made this her life’s work. Since her first book was published, Cummings has been on a mission to help young dreamers see themselves in the pages they read.
After finishing law school in (date), Cummings quickly realized that she had a deep passion to “heal instead of fight.” Since that pivotal moment, she has spent more than two decades working within the family therapy and support field using her wisdom, talents, and a desire for peace to make the world a better place.
In 2014 she added the title of “author” to her portfolio, and much of her writing shares her experiences of working with kids in therapeutic foster care. All fifteen of Cummings’ diverse pictures, poetry, and workbooks for kids reflect her professional knowledge and love of life.
The Governor of Kentucky recently appointed Cummings to the Governor’s Early Childhood Advisory Council. Cummings is also an important Advisory Board Member of the diversity in children’s literacy nonprofit Multicultural Children’s Book Day. She is also the founder of the Louisville Book Festival, a literacy-based celebration in Louisville, Kentucky, held every year in October, and the nonprofit program- It Pays to Read, which pays children to read books.
Her newest milestone is rapid-releasing the five-book Kayla: A Modern-Day Princess diverse picture book in 2021. Inspired by her daughter, Broadway performer Kayla Pecchioni, this series of picture books shines the spotlight on a feisty little Black girl who never let anything get in the way of her dreams.
In 2022 and 2023, there will be almost a dozen middle-grade books inspired by and featuring the same characters in the Kayla series. These upcoming easy-reader chapter books will expand on the core values of the picture book series to bring the same stories of bravery, determination, empathy, and acceptance that caters to a more advanced reader.
“Children will love growing up with Kayla through the picture book series, then the middle-grade books, and eventually through watching the live musical theater version come to life,” Cummings shared. “The Kayla series, in all forms, is the story of a Black artist who pursues her dream of performing arts despite facing adversity from strangers and also from those she loves. It’s about love, support, bravery, and a little bit of magic.”
For company details, to see other MAWM diverse book titles, and to learn more about all of the Kayla: A Modern-Day Princess books, go here.