Nguyen, Thai, and Monique Truong. Mai’s Ao Dai. Illustrated by Dung Ho. A Caitlyn Dlouhy Book/ Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2025. 978-1-665-91734-6. $18.99. Unpaged. Grades K-3.
Little Mai is determined to be a star. Her loving Ba (dad) encourages her flights of fancy, but also needs to get Mai ready for the Tet celebrations. One of the Vietnamese customs for the Lunar New Year is to wear new clothes, but Mai balks at wearing an ao-dai, even though it may deter her from visiting her beloved grandmother. She wants an outfit befitting a star! Ba uses family photo albums to convince Mai that her family and the creation of the ao-dai have a star-studded heritage. Ba puts his designing talent to work and Mai happily joins the family celebration donning her star-emblazoned, rocket soaring ao-dai. The authors approach a book about the Lunar New Year by focusing on the garments worn. Using the ao-dai, Nguyen and Truong present a story of immigration, hard work, success, and tradition. The vivid illustrations animate the father-daughter bond, especially Mai’s energy. Depicting the family timeline in black and white “photos” gives them a spotlight readers will find easy to follow and differentiate from the present story. End pages include a glossary and an outline for designing one’s own ao dai. Mai’s Ao Dai is a different addition to a collection of Asian-American literature.
THOUGHTS: My initial thought was, who wants to read a picture book about a dress? I ended up thinking, what an unusual approach to a book about tradition, family, and the Lunar New Year celebration. The illustrations in this book are very strong; Mai-about five or six-years old– is drawn with such panache that she lifts off the page. Another unique piece is having the father be a dress designer, like his mother. The short photo story highlighting the family’s immigration story and the importance of Tet will resonate with southeast Asian students. This book can be a springboard for students to create their own special outfit or to talk about family traditions.
Picture Book
Realistic Fiction