There's No Such Thing As... Mermaids

January 1, 2024
A child searches for a mermaid. When the narrator's sister declares that "there's no such thing as mermaids," a search for evidence of the mythical creatures is in order, soon including a stream, a pond, an indoor pool, and the beach, among other places. The narrator doesn't have any luck, but readers will catch brief glimpses of a mermaid--a tail appears on one page; bright pink hair can be found on another. Children will enjoy this Where's Waldo?-esque element. The rhyming text follows a predictable pattern that will appeal to preschool-aged readers. Busy but never overwhelming, the illustrations effectively prevent the mermaid from being too obvious at first glance. Some of the scenes contain puzzling elements. A beach scene shows the narrator and sister in long sleeves and pants, but a nearby shopkeeper is wearing a sleeveless shirt, and it's clearly hot enough for beachgoers to wade in the water. What season is it? These details don't make or break the story, however, especially given that this is a tale about a magical creature who can seemingly float from one body of water to another. Narrator and sister are both brown-skinned; background characters are diverse in terms of skin tone, age, and dress. Fun and breezy fodder for mermaid fans. (Picture book. 3-6)

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May 24, 2024

PreS-K-Rowland and Halford are a dynamic duo, and their sweet seek-and-find stories that center around magical creatures are tremendous fun for young tots. Featuring a cast of diverse background characters, the narrator sets out to prove mermaids exist when her older sister says they do not. Bright, vibrant artwork cohesively works with the text, which is expressive and varying in size to emphasize the narrator's tone. A great assistance for adults reading to children, or children starting to read on their own, these literacy cues draw readers into the text as they try to find a mermaid. The use of repetition ("There's no such thing as mermaids") encourages early literacy and a soft rhyme scheme enhances patterning for young children. In her mermaid search, the narrator visits a stream, park, aquarium, fountain, lake, sea, shore, and river. The mermaid is carefully hidden in each richly imagined spread. Despite the incongruity of some locations, the breezy story works as it's all about a mermaid-logistics do not matter in this fun package. VERDICT Children and their families will delight in this generation's Where's Waldo for young kids; this will work well in story hours, too.-Rachel Zuffa

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