Ava & Mae: The Fabulous Fashion Show

In Ava & Mae: The Fabulous Fashion Show by Brittney Dias, two sisters learn the importance of taking risks and asking for helping hands.

Mae loves to draw in her backyard, mainly in fashion designs. She's bringing back shoulder pads. (Adults of a specific age range can remember when those were a must-have item in your closet.) She creates bold designs, some silly and some fancy. Ava, Mae's sister, has the brilliant idea to showcase Mae's creations in a fashion show. I loved the show of family support! 

The duo had a lot to do in preparation for the grand show. Each step shows the magnitude of the project, their determination and hard work, teamwork, ingenuity, problem-solving skills, and their success as young entrepreneurs. 

Children will encounter "venue " during the first step," highlighted in red. This word might be new to some young readers. The sentence following the potentially new term clues them into its meaning. 

As the two sisters move through each phase (step), more words are offset in red. If a child is stuck on any red word, Brittney Dias (author) has included a vocabulary page after the book's conclusion. Not every red word will stump them, but a guide is a valuable tool if they can't decipher a meaning using context clues. 

Ava & Mae: The Fabulous Fashion Show might inspire more children to become young entrepreneurs. This story might encourage teachers to create a group project where students "start a new business" or follow the guide in the book to run their fashion show. Whether you read it for fun or as a lead into a class project, school-age readers will adore this book. 

While some terminology might be too advanced for two and three-year-olds, they'll still love the beautiful and diverse illustrations by iman Purnell. 

This book is perfect for home or school use.