In an exuberant picture book, a glimpse of costumed mermaids leaves one boy flooded with wonder and ready to dazzle the world.
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[STARRED REVIEW]
Young Julián lives with his abuela and is obsessed with mermaids. He imagines taking off his clothes, growing a tail, and swimming freely through the blue-tinted water with swirls of fish and stingrays. After spying some women on a train dressed as mermaids, Julián later tells his abuela, “I am also a mermaid,“ then proceeds to wrap a curtain around his waist as a “tail.“ Ferns in his hair complete the fantastical look, and when his grandmother catches him—is he in trouble? Not at all! In fact, she takes Julian to a festival where people are dressed as fantastically as Julian. Love couples the spare narrative with vivid, imaginative, and breathtaking illustrations. VERDICT A heartwarming must-have for one-on-one and small group sharing.—Amanda C. Buschmann, Carroll Elementary School, Houston
[STARRED REVIEW] The front endpapers show a group of older women in a pool and a boy swimming underwater. On the next spread (the copyright and title pages), the child, Juliân, is walking to the subway with one of the women, his abuela, followed by three magnificent-looking people dressed as mermaids. Juliân loves mermaids, and this encounter leads him into a daydream where he dives deep into the water, shedding clothes and transforming himself into a mermaid. Arriving home, the boy creates a makeshift mermaid outfit from household objects (including the leaves of a houseplant and window curtains) and puts on lipstick. When Abuela discovers her gradndson in mermaid attire, there’s a very slight narrative pause: “‘Oh!’ Uh-oh.” How will she react? Happily, it’s all good: Abuela gives Juliân a string of beads to complete the outfit, then the two walk proudly arm in arm toward a festive parade, joining others joyfully dressed as mermaids, stingrays, and other sea creatures (à la Coney Island’s Mermaid Parade). Juliân’s emotional journey takes on depth through small but important details: a wary look in the mirror, a slight inward slump of the shoulders, a chin held high while marching down the street. Love uses vibrant watercolors with gouache and ink and a lively style to create scenes that splash and swirl to life on the page. minh lê