The King Cake Baby

In this New Orleans version of the Gingerbread Man, the King Cake Baby, a small figure traditionally hidden inside a king cake little plastic baby traditionally hidden inside a Carnival King Cake escapes and encounters various local characters as he runs across the French Quarter heading for the Mississippi River. Includes a recipe for king cake. Bon appétit!

Pelican Pub | ISBN: 978-1-45562-013-5
32 pages | ages 4-8

Where can you catch The King Cake Baby?

Bookshop | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Fun Activities:

Easy Peasy King Cake Party. See fun photos of kids making this king cake!
Mardi Gras King Cake from Pillsbury Dough Sheets to see step-by-step photo directions.
5 Little King Cake Babies Action Song: pdf of lyrics, numbered babies, finger puppets, and a pdf copy to use with this action song that accompanies THE KING CAKE BABY book.
Homer Plessy Grade 2 Students singing the 12 Days of Carnival Song

Educational Resources:

FREE Study Guide! Activities aligned with the academic standards, crafts, coloring sheets, and more.
The King Cake Baby, Jama’s Alphabet Soup. Explains the history of Carnival, king cake, and why we hide a plastic baby figurine inside!

Reviews:

KidLit Pick: Mardi Gras Edition, Alysson Foti Bourque, News15, Lafayette, LA
The King Cake Baby, Children’s Books Heal blog
The King Cake Baby Multicultural Book Day review, Crafty Moms Share blog
REVIEWSDAY TUESDAY: A Review of Keila V. Dawson’s The King Cake Baby, My Word Playground
2015 Diversity Reading Challenge – The King Cake Baby, Miss Marple’s Musings blog

Book Trailer:

Media:

WVXU 91.7 (NPR) interview, with Lee Hay, Around Cincinnati.
United Service Organizations (USO):
- 2022 USO South Texas Mardi Gras celebration
- 2021 USO South Texas Mardi Gras celebration