But What Can You Do?

The debut book from mother-daughter duo Arika Parr + Ava Johnson is a charming, relatable story with an important message about perseverance, self-awareness, and positive self-talk.

BUT WHAT CAN YOU DO? helps kids celebrate their personal strengths while helping parents and caregivers nurture a positive self-image in kids.

ABOUT THE BOOK

About Ava + Mommy

Simply put, Ava + Mommy uses relatable experiences to create fun stories like BUT WHAT CAN YOU DO? to help build social and emotional toolboxes for kids ages 3 through 8 years old. Our hope is that after reading a story, kids will be able to better understand, accept, and regulate their big feelings. Our stories give parents real-life examples of how to support kids in understanding that learning is a process and making mistakes is a part of that process.

meet the mother-daughter duo

Ava Johnson and Arika, an African American mother and daughter who are the authors of Ava + Mommy books

reviews

What Our Readers Are saying

I really enjoyed reading "But What Can You Do?"

As a former classroom teacher, I found that this book really speaks to what we want to teach our students about not always focusing on what you can't do but remembering all of the great things that you can do. We also want students to change their thinking to "not yet" versus "not ever" and I felt this book was a great reminder of that. As the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Community one of the first things I look for in books is representation. It is extremely important that children see themselves in books and I noticed right away the beautiful representation that was in this book. It was really great to see!

Jonelle Harris

Director of Diversity, Equity & Community | New City School

The Mommy Chronicles

Heyyy! I'm Arika, the Mommy part of Ava + Mommy. While I love being Mommy, I am also a woman, a creative, a friend, a daughter and more. I was all of these things way before I was ever a mom. Here, I’ll share my thoughts and feelings on how I work in finding harmony with all aspects of myself especially as it pertains to motherhood.