Fresh Princess: Style Rules!

by Denene Millner, Gladys Jose (Illustrations)

Join Destiny the Fresh Princess in her second adventure! Based on The Fresh Prince created by Will Smith.

Now that Destiny settled in to her new neighborhood, she is on her way to the next big thing: a new school!

Destiny loves everything about school, but when she shows up to Paul Robeson Prep, it’s bigger than she ever imagined, the uniforms are plain, and all her friends already have a “thing.” Destiny suddenly doesn’t feel so fresh and wonders how she’ll ever stand out. That’s when she notices something super cool about her uniform jacket…

Will Destiny find a way to make her mark?

Written by celebrated author, blogger, and editor Denene Millner and illustrated by Gladys Jose, Fresh Princess: Style Rules! is the perfect book to encourage kids to be creative, be smart, and most importantly, be themselves!

Perfect for fans of Juno Valentine created by Eva Chen and Fancy Nancy created by Jane O'Connor.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, African American

32 pages, Hardcover

First published March 31, 2020

About the author

Denene Millner is a six-time New York Times best-selling author, Emmy Award-nominated TV show host and award-winning journalist and book publisher who has written more than 30 books, among them: Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man, co-written with Steve Harvey; Around the Way Girl, a memoir with actress Taraji P. Henson; the Fresh Princess picture books, with Will Smith; and, The Vow, the novel on which the hit Lifetime movie, “With This Ring,” was based. The writer and editor is also the editorial director and publisher of Denene Millner Books, an award-winning imprint that publishes stories featuring Black children and families, by Black authors and illustrators. The DMB list includes two Caldecott Honor books, a Kirkus Prize for Children’s Literature, two Society for Illustrator honors, a Southern Book Award, an instant New York Times bestseller and three NAACP nominations. Denene also co-hosts the nationally syndicated PBS show, A Seat at the Table, and is the host of “Speakeasy with Denene,” a podcast exploring Black culture. Denene’s upcoming novel, One Blood, a multi-generational epic about motherhood, adoption and race, is slated to be published in eight countries when it debuts in 2023. A MacDowell fellow, Denene lives in Atlanta with her two daughters and their goldendoodle, Franklin.

Reviews

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

See my full review here: https://www.yabookscentral.com/kidsfi...

FRESH PRINCESS: STYLE RULES! is a fun book about marking your mark. Destiny is starting at a new school, and she wants to find a way to stand out. She loves everything about school, except her uniform, which is pretty unstylish. She does love the lining of the jacket she wears, and when she accidentally puts it on inside-out, she loves it, but she is worried about breaking the rules. When she talks to her sister that night, she realizes that she didn't break any rules. The next day she goes to school wearing her jacket inside-out, and this may be the way she can make her mark.

What I loved: This is an overall adorable story, and I love the emphasis on Destiny also being smart and enjoying learning at school in addition to wanting to look great doing it all. It's also great to have Black main characters and a dad who cooks a great breakfast on her first day. These types of representation are really important and great to see. The writing is great for preschool through elementary school-aged readers with a good amount of text to brightly colored illustrations. Destiny's story will charm young readers throughout.

Final verdict: Charming and full of bright colors, FRESH PRINCESS: STYLE RULES! is a delightful read about finding your way to make a mark and let your personality shine.

Please note that I received a review copy. All opinions are my own.

[Litwithlove · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book sucks. The art is boring and the characters are flat. The whole plot is that a little girl flips her school issued uniform jacked inside out and other kids do. Book over. Who cares. This has literally nothing to do with the Fresh Prince, other than someone relocating to a new area. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone, there is nothing endearing about it. AND it retails at almost $20

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written by author, blogger, and editor Denene Millner Fresh Princess is a book that encourages kids to proudly stand out and be themselves. When Destiny, nicknamed Fresh Princess by her family, moves to a new neighborhood she finds the new way of life very different. The school is bigger than she imagined and the school uniform is bland. However, she soon finds her own path with her signature creativity.
This story is loosely based on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air tv show that aired in the 1990s. Illustrations include a diverse classroom crowd and are brightly colored.

[AMY · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very colorful and realistic picture book for kids who like to break out of the same old boring day. The girl in the story named Destiny is moving to a new school and must wear a uniform. She explores doing something that might be against the local rules but shows her own style. This is a great book for being yourself while trying to conform to rules and regulations. Highly recommended for Grades K-2.

[Skyler Dressel · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Fresh Princess" is a book about standing out and being yourself. We follow along as the main charater starts at a new school. She wants to be diffrent than her classmates, so she flips her jacket inside out. Soon everyone is doing this along with her. The images are done in a super bright and colorful way. Overall, I like the book, but I think its a little long and drug on.

[Pinky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Destiny loves everything about her new school except the school uniform. She turns her jacket inside out and almost everyone does the same but she doesn't get in trouble and they make Wednesday inside out uniform day.

[Rolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciate the message about kids learning to express their individuality within a structure (like school) with rules and expectations of conformity, though I wish it had pushed a bit harder on the individuality part than the conformity part.

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Destiny is a character that many students could also relate to when it comes to school. She wanted to be a part of something or stand out at her new school but did not know how much of a challenge it could be. With Destiny's creativity, she was able to stand out at her new school in the least expected way. This was a great book and I enjoyed reading it. This reminds children that they can be an inspiration to others. This book also reminds children to be themselves.