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about
About Ava + Mommy
Ava + Mommy Publishing creates children's books that focus on Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), helping kids in Pre-K through 3rd grade manage their big feelings. Through stories that teach positive self-talk, perseverance, and self-awareness, we aim to equip young readers with key tools for problem-solving. Our mission is to support parents, caregivers, and educators in guiding children to celebrate their strengths while nurturing a growth mindset. We hope that when kids read an Ava + Mommy book, they’re reminded of the skills they already possess and feel inspired to learn new ones to support their emotional growth.
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In addition, Ava + Mommy has a growing social media presence that shares no pretense parenting experiences. We also hope to inspire families to create long lasting memories together by highlighting fun and engaging activities.
The Mother-Daughter Duo
Ava Johnson
Ava Johnson is an adventure seeker with big feelings and big opinions who loves to travel and try new things. Except roller coasters. She really, really, really dislikes roller coasters! When Ava grows up, she wants to be a scientist, a veterinarian, and an artist. She has a growing love for live theater and makes up her own lyrics to popular songs. After several failed attempts, Ava has also managed to face her fear of going into a dark basement. How? By screaming “I AM NOT AFRAID OF YOU, BASEMENT!” repeatedly as she goes down the steps to turn on the light. Ava loves her family, her friends and her dog, Peanut Butter Johnson. You can read about Ava’s adventures in the Ava + Mommy book series including But What Can You Do? and the forthcoming But How Do You Feel? and But What Can You Say?
Arika Parr
Arika Parr is a children’s book author based in St. Louis, MO where she lives with her daughter, Ava. From a very young age, Arika loved words and creative writing. Her passion for storytelling propelled her career as a TV & radio producer and community development professional. Then Ava came along, and Arika found a new passion – teaching her daughter, as well as other children, the importance of looking within for encouragement, positive self-talk, and perseverance.
This was the beginning of a new and exciting phase of Arika’s life, where she merged her two passions, old and new, to create something special: Ava + Mommy Publishing. It’s a way for Arika to use Ava’s real-life challenges to create social and emotional learning solutions through storytelling, in hopes of providing support and inspiration for other kids and parents.
Public Speaking and Curated Activations
Want to bring a fun and interactive activity to your classroom based on But What Can You Do? Our in-school sessions, for Pre-K through 2nd grade, will help students embrace their sparks – things they feel that make them unique- and encourage them to find new ones. I will also help walk students through activities that are self-affirming, help them celebrate their personal identity and give tools on how to become a positive thinker.
Arika is available for booking + more:
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In-person or virtual read-aloud sessions of But What Can You Do?
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Podcast Interviews
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Contributing Writing
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+ More
Connect
Follow Ava + Mommy on our socials to see where we've been, where we're going, what we're writing next, and learn how you can be a part of it. Share your email with us here we can email you cool stuff about future curated Ava + Mommy experiences like play dates and events. We promise not to spam you. We really, really, really dislike spam.
