Julián Is a Mermaid
By:
In an exuberant picture book, a glimpse of costumed mermaids leaves one boy flooded with wonder and ready to dazzle the world.
ISBN: 9780763690458
JLG Release: Aug 2018
Sensitive Areas:
None
Awards & Honors
2019—2020 Red Clover Award Nominee
2019 Ladybug Picture Book Award Nominee
2019 Children's & Teen Choice Book Awards finalist
2019 Ezra Jack Keats Award Honor, Illustrator
MRLS Cream of the Crop - 2019
Rainbow List Choice - 2019
2019 Stonewall Book Award Winner
ALSC Notable Children's Books - 2019
Capitol Choices: Noteworthy Books for Children and Teens - 2019
CCBC Choices 2019 Choice: Picture Books for Young Children
CSMCL Best Books - 2018
Publishers Weekly Best Books - 2018
CPL Best Books, Picture Books - 2018
Kirkus Best Books, Picture Books - 2018
NYPL Best Books for Kids - 2018
NPR’s Book Concierge - 2018
School Library Journal Best Books - 2018
BCCB Blue Ribbons - 2018
Horn Book Fanfare - 2018
Praise & Reviews
Starred or favorable reviews have been received from these periodicals:
Booklist, The Horn Book Magazine*, Kirkus Reviews*, Publishers Weekly*, School Library Journal*, Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books*
School Library Journal
[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 mer [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
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 mer [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
Horn Book
[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 [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
Book Details
ISBN
9780763690458
First Release
August 2018
Genre
Fiction
Dewey Classification
Trim Size
Page Count
40
Accelerated Reader
Level 0.8; Points: 0.5;
Scholastic Reading Counts
N/ALexile
N/AFormat
Print Book
Edition
Hardcover edition
Publisher
Candlewick
Potentially Sensitive Areas
None
