How to Spot a Mermaid by Jane Yolen illustrated by Sally Deng

"Pack a package of Goldfish crackers and a bottle of water.

The water is for you.

Mermaids have quite enough water for their own needs.

The crackers are to share."

Mermaids are a popular topic with younger readers and dare I say mostly girls. Jane Yolen does not specify the gender of this adventurer because the story is told by an off-stage narrator. It is illustrator Sally Deng who has interpreted the book so to my eye the child could be a girl or a boy. You can see inside this book here.

Publisher blurb: Would you like to spot a mermaid? If so, you will need a few supplies and a great deal of patience. As we learn in these informative illustrated pages, mermaids are very shy and do not make friends easily. But if you find a place near the water, sit very still, and are willing to share your Goldfish crackers, you just might be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of one. And who knows . . . there may even be a mermaid, somewhere, hoping to catch a glimpse of you, too!

You will have fun when you read this book aloud because it contains the word 'fishetarians' which means they eat fish - so "try not to look like a fish." Also, actually most mermaids are vegetarians which means they eat kelp and "kelp looks like brown pasta". There is a mermaid hiding on nearly every page - readers will see this but the boy or girl keeps looking the wrong way. 

I was pleased to find this book in a public library a couple of weeks ago. It was only published in April 2025 which means this library does add new books and not only Australian titles and it might also mean someone is keeping an eye out for popular topics like mermaids. And of course, all libraries need books by master storyteller Jane Yolen author of over 400 books. 

Deng’s lovely pictures depict diverse mermaids in flowing, sea-green swaths, swimming, diving, and even waving to a potential (human) friend. A sweet addition to mermaid lore. Kirkus

In a few weeks I will be talking again about Sally Deng. She is the illustrator of a brilliant new book by Katherine Paterson about Jella Lepman the founder of IBBY.

The girl who talked to trees by Natasha Farrant illustrated by Lydia Corry

Olive lives in a large house with extensive gardens and grounds. She is from a privileged family and we know this because her father is called Sir Sydney and her mother is Lady Josephine. Olive is a loner. She is really only truly happy when she is left alone to wander around their huge estate. Olive especially loves all the trees in their garden and her very special friend is the old oak tree. 

One morning at breakfast her father declares he has a new idea. He will build a summerhouse for parties and picnics. That could be a good idea but his plan is to build this in the meadow and that will mean he will cut down Olive's precious oak tree - a tree that is her one true friend. Olive is so upset but her father says he will save the tree if she can think of "something more impressive that my summerhouse."

Olive has only seven hours to achieve this. She heads outside to her oak tree and while she lies among the roots she falls asleep and when she wakes from her deep sleep, the most amazing adventure begins. Olive meets seven different trees - one for each hour. She listens to their stories and these stories, in turn, give her wondrous tales to tell her father at the end of the day.

"The afternoon light mellowed, the shadows of the great elm and tulip tree stretched across the lawn. The air grew colder. The butler bought snacks and drinks. The under-butler bought blankets. The maid bought candles. Eventually they ran out of things to bring but stayed to listen anyway, because the Girl Who Talked to Trees was telling the most incredible, most wild, most wonderful stories."

The trees in this book may not be readily familiar to Australian children but they are the trees we all encounter in stories - oak, linden, alder (a type of birch), London plane tree, apple tree, tulip tree, and box. The tree I had not heard of is the tulip tree. It is a type of poplar. Between each chapter (or tree tale) there is a helpful double page with a brief set of facts about each type of tree. My favourite story is the one told by the London Plane tree. 

Image source: Dedham Vale tree surgery

I picked this book up in a city book store based almost solely on the cover and internal colour illustrations. I love the way the title is presented in embossed gold.  Last night I read the whole book in one sitting - yes it is that good! There are seven chapters and seven stories in this book - one for each night of the week perhaps. This book could be a beautiful gift to a child aged 7+. 

Here is a video where the illustrator talks about this book and then she paints the oak tree from her book. 

Alongside Natasha Farrant’s superb, empathetic, passionate story of nature, history, our place on the planet and the environment, are Lydia Corry’s glorious illustrations. Then again, we’re gifted information about seven trees, realising their individual strengths, horticulture and histories. Book Wagon

UK author Natasha Farrant won the Costa award for her book Voyage of the Sparrowhawk (2020) and Lyndia Corry's first book was Eight Princesses and a magic mirror (2019).

The Pearl in the Ice by Cathryn Constable

Marina is about to be sent off to a school for young ladies. She has no desire to become a lady. She would much rather join her father, a naval Commander, on his ship the Neptune sailing off to Cadiz in Spain.

Before I continue with the plot just take a closer look at the names here - Marina - the place for a boat to dock. The ship is called the Neptune - he is the Roman god of the sea. If you look at my post labels you will see I have listed mermaids. Here are some descriptions of Marina's mother who disappeared some years ago:

"She called up a hazy vision of a pale face with large dark eyes. There was long dark hair, like trailing seaweed. Ropes of pearls that hung down over the stiff bodice of a green silk dress with lace ruffles, like white caps on waves. And two canes topped with mother-of-pearl leaning against her chair, which her mother used if she had to walk."

Speaking of descriptions here is another important one. On the day she is supposed to be heading to school, the day her father is supposed to be sailing to Spain, Marina jumps onto a different train - the one heading to Portsmouth. A strange woman joins Marina in the carriage. This lady, Miss Gaby Smith secretary to the First Sea Lord, seems to ask lots of questions and she even pays Marina's first class fare when the ticket collector arrives.

"A young woman in a neat blue-and-white striped suit with a white ruffled blouse had appeared in the corridor behind the guard. She wore a small straw hat perched on top of a pile of exuberant auburn hair. ... The woman clipped her consonants when she spoke. Where was she from? She was wearing very clean white crocheted gloves. Her skirt was so daringly short that it showed an inch of calf above the top of her neatly laced red boots."

Nothing sinister here? Perhaps. Just a tiny hint about her accent. But then Marina sees this mysterious woman again. She appears in Svengejar, the most northerly port in the Grand Duchy of Finnmark.  Before Marina can catch up to Miss Smith on the streets of this remote sea port, her father whisks her away back onto his ship, the Sea Witch. Marina's father was not travelling to Cadiz in Spain on the Neptune. Instead he tells Marina his mission is to repair a broken communications transmitter which is located in a remote inland part of Pechorin Island. The real purpose of this mission, however, will leave you breathless and the true identity of Miss Smith is sure to be a huge shock to all readers just as it is to Marina herself. What is going on here? And how is Marina's mother linked to this strange Northern Arctic military base? And what are we to make of the title - The Pearl in the Ice?

The Pearl in the Ice is a gripping story of heroism, betrayal and complex relationships. I often think about school libraries that like to use genre stickers. This book would need several - Adventure, Mystery, War, Spies, Thriller, Fantasy and Relationships.  

You can read the first ten pages on the Chicken House page. Click these quotes to read more plot details. 

Disturbing memories of her mute mother haunt Marina. Her mother has been gone for a long time, and she has been brought up by her father, the commander of a ship. Marina longs to be noticed by her father, but he has secrets of his own. Book Trust

I absolutely loved reading along with her journey and I loved that there was something going on underneath it all. You could feel that something wasn’t quite what it seemed but you couldn’t quite work out what it was … Daydreamers Thoughts

By basing her book half in reality and half not, Constable sets up some wonderful tension in her characters; the reader having to guess who is speaking the truth, and who not. Minerva Reads

It’s a story to make young readers believe anything is possible, and all the better for that. Books for Keeps

I would pair this book with The Seven Professors of the far North.

You might also enjoy Monster Odyssey - The eye of Neptune.

Annie Lumsden The girl from the sea by David Almond illustrated by Beatrice Alemagna

 

Annie lives with her Mam beside the sea. The description of Annie gives a strong impression that she might be a sea creature - a mermaid:

"I have hair that drifts like seaweed when I swim. I have eyes that shine like rock pools. My ears are like scallop shells. The ripples on my skin are like the ripples on the sand when the tide has turned back again. At night I gleam and glow like the sea beneath the stars and moon."

School is a terrible struggle for Annie and she is curious about her father. Her mother tells heartfelt stories of long ago and of love on the beach.  One day a mysterious stranger arrives. He takes a photo of Annie. Is this image a way to know the truth?

There are beautiful illustrations in this book and the image hidden under the dust jacket is very special.

I was asked to read Annie Lumsden, the Girl from the Sea, because a friend who is a Teacher-Librarian in a Kinder to Grade Two setting bought this book from a local book store. It was placed with the very junior books but, since Annie is actually thirteen, my friend rightly thought this book would be for older readers perhaps it might even be a YA title. I find it odd that the publisher rep (Walker books) did not advise the book store that this book, even though it looks appropriate for very young readers because it is slim (60 pages) and has colourful illustrations, is best suited to readers aged 10+. The book it is taken from actually suggests ages 12-17. How do I know this?  Teacher-Librarians are keen readers of imprint information - the tiny details found on the back of a title page.  Annie Lumsden, girl from the sea says:

"First published in 2007 as 'Half a creature from the sea' in Click." Naturally I was curious and my search took me to this title Half a creature from the sea:

Here is a quote from Publisher's Weekly:

Beyond offering eight alluring epiphany stories (most previously published elsewhere), Almond  provides a rare glimpse into the writer’s imagination and the process of creation. “I try to do what many writers have done before me: show that ordinary places can be extraordinary,” he notes in the introduction. The selections are prefaced with childhood memories that serve as inspiration for strange, mysterious narratives illuminated by Taylor’s haunting b&w drawings. Almond invites readers to journey through streets lined with small stores, to savor a saveloy sandwich from the local pork shop, and to ponder the possibility of fathers, dead and gone, returning to Earth. 

The title story, about “a daughter who might be half a creature from the sea”, is one of the strangest in the collection, subtly interweaving memories of the glorious Northumberland coast with myths of mermaids and sea gods. Like all the other stories, though, it charts that troubling but inevitable rite of passage from innocence to experience. It tells us that “Sometimes … the best way to understand how to be human is to understand our strangeness”. READ Research in English at Durham 

Then I dug further and found Click:

Ten distinguished authors each write a chapter of this intriguing novel of mystery and family, which examines the lives touched by a photojournalist George Keane, aka Gee. Publisher’s Weekly

Here are the ten authors: David Almond, Eoin Colfer, Roddy Doyle, Deborah Ellis, Nick Hornby, Margo Lanagan, Gregory Maguire, Ruth Ozeki, Linda Sue Park, and Tim Wynne-Jones. 

Putting all these puzzle pieces together Annie Lumsden was first a chapter in a story about a photographer, then it was added to an anthology by David Almond and finally it is a stand alone book. 

Annie Lumsden... reads like a fable and easily becomes part of the readers consciousness, causing a shift in perception (much like many of Almonds' other books and in particular, Skellig.) It is haunting, ebbing and flowing like the tides that create it. Gently humourous, astoundingly insightful and utterly enchanting … Fallen Stars Stories

David Almond’s thought-provoking, sensitive tale is as broad and as deep as the ocean it evokes and Beatrice Alemagna’s vivid, playful illustrations enrich the mystery and wonder on every page. Together they capture the elusive innocence of childhood and the beauty of nature with a magical realism that beckons the reader to dive in and interpret Annie’s world.Readings

The research I did for Annie Lunsden reminds me of another slim novel for older children which originally came from a anthology - Captain Rosalie.

Lampie and the Children of the Sea by Annet Schaap

The happy times living in the lighthouse with her mum and dad are now just memories. It is now up to Emelia, known as Lampie, to light the lamp each evening in the lighthouse she shares with her father. He can no longer climb the sixty-one steps to the top. To light the lamp Lampie needs matches. There is only one match left in the box so tomorrow she will need to cross to the shore when the tide is low. The trouble is Lampie has problems with her memory. This means the next day she forgets about those all important matches until it is almost dark. After a difficult interaction with the shop keeper's wife Lampie rushes home to find the tide has turned. The water is high. The storm is wild and it is so dark. The matches are dropped. Ships in the ocean are in danger of crashing against the rocks.

The town authorities blame Augustus, the lighthouse keeper.  His punishment is swift. He is locked inside his lighthouse and his precious daughter is removed from his care.

Lampie is taken to live in a strange house where she is expected to work as a servant. Lampie longs to return to her father. She knows this is all her fault. The grand house has a tower room with a locked door and there are rumors of a monster.

"Now that she can't see his tail, he seems like an ordinary boy. But one with green hair and pitch black devil's eyes and a mouth full of sharp teeth."

Lampie is desperate to investigate and thus she finds herself in a world of circus curiosities, pirates and danger. I kept hearing the sound track to The Greatest Show as I read this section.

Lampie and the Children of the Sea has been translated from Dutch by Laura Watkinson. The extra word "querido" on the Dutch cover is a Spanish word meaning cherished or dear. Read more about the process of book translation here.

You can read about the inspiration for the story of Lampie on the author web site and you can read a story excerpt here.

Books which are set in and around lighthouses always appeal to me. The Round Island light house on Lake Michigan was the inspiration for this story.

There are aspects of this book that mirror the plot of The Secret Garden. Lampie is sent far away from home just like Mary. Lampie finds her new life confusing and harsh. She hears noises in the night and visits a forbidden room where she meets a young boy who is unwell and crippled. Lampie introduces the boy to the outside world and helps to heal his broken body. But this is all too simple. There are so many interesting twists in this plot.

It’s a beautiful book about standing up against injustice, fighting for what you deserve rather than settling for what life has handed you. Above all it is about being fiercely, proudly, determinedly you.  The Booknook

I highly recommend Lampie and the Children of the Sea. I read it in one sitting and 'lived' every moment of terror and confusion along with Lampie all the while desperately hoping the injustices inflicted on her would be reversed and that she could once again join her father in the lighthouse.

Annet Schaap is a well known illustrator in Holland with over 200 titles to her credit. I was excited to discover she provided illustrations for one of my favourite Elizabeth Honey books What do you think, Feezal?  Here is the Dutch cover:

Keeper by Kathi Appelt

Keeper is like an onion with lots of layers or perhaps a rose with endless petals.  The story is structured like a spiral with lots of repetition and flashbacks.  Each of the one hundred and twenty chapters gives a tiny glimpse of the plot.  Reading this book is, as I said in my last post, quite a challenge. As a reader you need perseverance but if you give this book time the final scenes are brilliant.

Keeper is convinced her mother is a mermaid.  As a small baby she has been left in the care of Signe, a young girl who has previously run away from home.  Other adults in her life are Dogie, a young man damaged by his experiences as a soldier and Mr Beauchamp her elderly neighbor who was once a seafaring man.  She also has the companionship of her her faithful dog called BD (Best Dog), a seagull called Captain, Sinbad, Mr Beachamp's cat and Too, Dogie's dog.

As the story opens Keeper is leaving her tiny community in search of her mother.  Keeper needs advice.  It has been the night of the blue moon but all the special things have been ruined.  Singe's gumbo is spoilt, the crabs have been set free, Singe's special bowl has been smashed, Dogie has not sung his special two word song and Mr Beauchamp's night-blooming cyrus has been knocked out of its pot on the one night of the year when it was due to bloom.

I was curious about this flower so I thought I would include an image of this cactus.

It seems things cannot get any worse for Keeper so she prepares a twenty-six step plan, gathers her special wooden mermaid figures carved by Mr Beauchamp and with her dog BD by her side she rows out toward the open ocean.

Here is the trailer - no words just wonderful images.  Here is an excellent detailed review.

If you read enjoy Keeper you might also look for the Ingo series by Helen Dunmore, Everything on a waffle by Polly Horvath and the Emily Windsnap series by Liz Kessler.

Deftly spinning together mermaid lore, local legend and natural history, this stunning tale proves “every landscape has its magical beings,” and the most unlikely ones can form a perfect family.