Princess Cupcake Jones and the Missing Tutu

by Ylleya Fields, Michael LaDuca (Illustrator)

Princess Cupcake Jones loves creating a mess and ends up scattering her things everywhere in the castle! When her beloved tutu goes missing, Cupcake learns the importance of tidying up and putting things in their proper place. Join Princess Cupcake Jones as she searches her palace in hopes of finding her tutu and discovers hidden treasures along the way. As an added bonus in each book of the series, children will also have fun finding the hidden word in each inviting illustration. Helpful hints are a part of the book’s website, which also features downloadable color pages and other activities.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Royalty

32 pages, Hardcover

First published May 31, 2013

About the author

Ylleya Fields has three daughters and a son. While looking for books to read to her eldest daughter (when she was 2), Ylleya was struck by the limited number of titles featuring African American characters. Blending both of her daughter's images and personalities together, Cupcake Jones was created.

Born in South America, Ylleya currently resides with her family in Cleveland, Ohio. She enjoys writing and is currently working on new Princess Cupcake Jones stories.

Reviews

[E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Princess Cupcake Jones and the Dance Recital” by Ylleya Fields and illustrated by Michael LaDuca is a delightful children’s book celebrating love and dance. This book is part of the eponymous ‘Princess Cupcake Jones’ series that stars a very busy young girl and this particular volume focuses on the ballet recital that Cupcake and the rest of her class will be presenting. I love that all of the characters represent the diversity of our country and the bright and vivid illustrations enhance the delightful poems that tell the story of Cupcake’s challenges. The word love is artfully included in each drawing and the overall message of positive reinforcement, practice, and determination to achieve a goal make this a wonderful book to inspire children everywhere.

© Night Owl Reviews

I received a copy of this title in return for an honest review.

[Penny Minding Mom · Rating 5 out of 5]

I dream of the day that the toy room stays clean. It seems like we are always losing favourite toys in there and spending more time than we should looking for this pony or that train. I have tried to explain to my kids that if we give everything a home then we would be able to quickly find the toys we want instead of spending all of our play time searching for the lost toy! I think that is why I loved the story of “Princess Cupcake Jones and the Missing Tutu”. She is a character that my kids can really relate to.

Cupcake Jones is a modern day princess who has lost her favourite tutu! It’s picture day and no other outfit will do! Join Princess Cupcake Jones as she searches for her lost tutu and learns about the importance of cleaning up and putting things in their proper place.

“Princess Cupcake Jones and the Missing Tutu” teaches your child an important lesson about keeping things tidy in a fun and whimsical way. The book is written in rhyme and rolls off the tongue easily. It is the perfect length for bedtime. I love how it shows Cupcake Jones cleaning up after herself by herself, showing my kids that they are big enough to start tidying up after themselves.

The illustrations in the book are bright and cheerful. It does tend to lean towards a more “girly” book, but I believe that boys would enjoy it too. Hidden in each page is a “special word” for you to find. We haven’t found all of the words, but my daughter and I have had a lot of fun searching for them. If the book doesn’t give you your fill of Cupcake Jones head on over to the Princess Cupcake Jones website. It has printable colouring and game sheets to do.

This is one of my favourite stories. The illustrations and story are the perfect compliment to each other. This is a book that my kids and I will read again and again. We can’t wait to read the next book, “Princess Cupcake Jones Won’t Go To School.”

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from KSBLinks for review. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

[Jordan Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cupcake Jones and the Missing TuTu is written by Ylleya Fields. Princess Cupcake Jones, the daughter of a king and queen, is a character with her own series of books. This particular story is about when her favorite tutu goes missing. Princess Cupcake Jones realizes the importance of putting things in their place when you aren’t using them. She cleans her room, and realizes things she thought were lost were actually just not put in their place. By cleaning up, she found things she thought were missing. The story has a happy ending when all of Princess Cupcakes belongings are found and put away.

This story as the literary element of rhyming throughout. This would be a good picture book to provide opportunity to find words that rhyme. The pictures are colorful and spark imagination.

I would give this story a rating of 4 stars. It has a fun child-like character that many children could relate too. There is a moral to the story that the author uses her character to teach the readers. I like the message of keeping things clean or else you could lose something, and it is a good reminder to kids. This book would be perfect for girls interested in princesses, tutus, and all things girly.

[Jennifer Fischer · Rating 5 out of 5]

My daughter LOVES to wear tutus nearly all the time, so I knew she'd love this book! Princess Cupcake Jones loves wearing her tutu, but she has to take it off to go to bed. When she wakes up, the tutu is gone! A princess can't be without her tutu, so the hunt begins. The queen eventually persuades the princess to clean up, which leads to the discovery of the missing tutu.

My own daughter found the bright colored illustrations and rhymes in the text very appealing. This was a fun book to read together and she's already requested that we read it again. That's definitely a win! We'll be on the lookout for other books by this author.

[Margaret Boling · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/31/2019 ~ Princess Cupcake Jones can't find her tutu and realizes that if she cleans her room, she might find it. I will be adding this to my elementary library, because I'm always looking for playful books that just happen to have characters of color. However, the rhyme scheme is forced, the book reinforces gender stereotypes, and there are mismatches in a number of illustrations (rooms that don't match from one scene to the next.)

Young readers will enjoy looking for the "special word" (love) worked into many of the illustrations.

[Arnetha Villery]

Cupcake Jones is a cute story of a spunky little girl losing a favorite item in her castle. In a charming, lighthearted way, it underscores the importance of responsibility, doing chores, and taking care of your things. This is the first book in a series.

Princess Cupcake Jones has a big problem. It's time to take the royal portrait, and she cannot find her favorite tutu! With time running out

[Karalee Shotola · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about when Princess Cupcake Jones’ tutu goes missing and she searches her palace for it. The illustrations are cute, and on each page, there is a hidden word for children to find. The book teaches the lesson of tidying up in a fun way, which makes it great for any kid to read.

You can read my full review here: https://talesofbelle.com/2021/02/17/1...

[Amie Doughty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really 2 1/2. I don't understand the compulsion picture book authors seem to have with rhyming text. The story would be far cuter without the forced rhymes.

[Shanna Gebhard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was recently introduced to Cupcakes Jones and I just love her! You cannot help but fall in love with her. She reminds me of my daughter and her love of tutus. Cupcakes Jones's messy habits are also similar to my daughter's! In Princess Cupcakes Jones and the Missing Tutu young Jones discovers when she cleans up and puts her things away she longer has lost toys, clothes or other treasures. The revelation was prompted by her missing tutu that she loves so dearly. She woke up one morning and couldn't find it anywhere. So her mother, the Queen, told her if she took the time to put her things away what was once lost will not be lost anymore. Princess Cupcake Jones took her mother's advice and cleaned up her room. And wouldn't you know it, she was right!

While the story is entertaining and full of amazing illustrations there is also a lesson taught. A valuable lesson that all little kids need to learn. If they pick up their things they will never lose a toy, favorite blanket or treasured outfit. We have this issue often in my house with my daughter and when I was reading her the story she exclaimed - Mom you tell me that all the time! This is a wonderful story for any child.

I received a complimentary copy of Princess Cupcake Jones and the Missing Tutu in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion. All thoughts and opinions expressed are 100% my own.

[Cordelia Dinsmore · Rating 3 out of 5]

My granddaughter loves this story, being a tutu-toting princess herself. I thought the rhyme was strong and interesting, lacking the sometimes weak predictables, but at times the meter seemed off a bit for it to read smoothly. The princess was capable of solving her own problem, so that's another plus. The story taught a lesson without being preachy, although I think even the youngest audience can realize the purpose behind it.

What I really liked were the illustrations. The colors are vibrant and the princess's facial expressions are adorable. I think we'll be reading this one several more times.

[Beth Kakuma-Depew · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yes there's a lack of diversity in books for children and teens. But I think picture books are more diverse than chapter books.

This book aims to fill the need for a "Black Fancy Nancy", and using sing-song rhymes, it does just that. As far as self-published books go, this one is head and shoulders above the rest - it's actually on par with other professionally published picture books. And that makes it overly pink and average. But some little girl readers will enjoy it, and that's what's important.

[Jillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few parts with clunky rhythm to the rhymes & some inconsistencies in illustrations won't stop me from purchasing this series for my elementary library. Even the 5th grader I read it with enjoyed it and wants more. Students are always asking for princess books, and with Cupcake Jones being a Black girl with natural hair, it's an important representation to have in our library. And the extra fun of searching for the word "love" hidden in the illustrations on each page adds interest.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmm, Madam fully needs to read this book; maybe we will read it together tonight? After a discussion this morning featuring missing gloves, this book seems like a great way to gently suggest a clean-up/room search for the missing gloves....

Cute illustrations, good rhyming text, not forced or too cloying in its sweetness, and overall quite enjoyable.

[Sammie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cute and captivating story for my 3 year old. The illustrations are well done.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

My patrons loooove Princess Cupcake Jones. This is the only one I've read, but we can barely keep the three of them on the shelf. Thoroughly recommend!

[Jocelyn Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the very first read my littles were sold! It is so engaging, bright beautiful illustrations, and a hidden message about picking up. Great book that is constantly in rotation.

[Monique · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG...Princess Cupcake is so cute. The story is adorable. The illustrations are amazing. Can’t wait to read of these books to my 4 year old.

[Carlyeshia Johnson]

Princess Cupcake Jones is a cute story about a little princess who lost her tutu. This would be a great story to read if you want to introduce story plots and characters into your kindergarten classroom. I would have enjoyed the story a lot more if it had a male influence although they included a portrait including her father it think it would have changed the dynamic a lot more if a man was helping her look for a tutu showing a softer side of fathers.