Coral

March 1, 2020
Mermaids share a message. Mermaids Coral, Filly, and Manta work together to create the reef they call their home. But when Coral hides in a secluded nook she hopes to keep for herself, she discovers the emptiness that can result from not sharing. Idle, creator of the much-loved Flora series, returns to the underwater world she created for Pearl (2018) with this clever metaphorical depiction of the parts of a flourishing reef: the coral that constructs the reef itself, the fish that feed there, and the sharks and rays that keep it balanced. But her gentle fable resonates beyond the environmental level. The mermaids' conversation sounds like squabbling siblings: "You've ruined everything!" and "All you make is a mess!" With colored pencils, she's created a glowing, pastel-hued underwater world inhabited by three mermaids (Coral's pink, Manta's blue, and Filly's a brown-toned yellow). (In a particularly nice design touch, the watery landscape of the back-cover flap exactly meets the pattern of the endpaper.) Her mermaids don't sparkle; they, too, almost glow, matching the tones of their environment, and they reject clich�d mermaid imagery, instead appearing more as armed, anthropomorphic fish than human women with fish tales. During the quarrel, both color and background fade away. Coral goes white with anger, reflecting the color of a distressed reef, before her color returns as they reconcile. Words and pictures also cooperate to deliver a gentle but important lesson. (Picture book. 3-7)

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April 1, 2020

PreS-Gr 1-In this companion to Pearl, Idle tells the tale of three mermaids-Coral, who creates the reef; Filly, who looks after the fish in the reef; and Manta, who raises the sharks and rays that eat the reef fish, keeping it in balance. The three live in harmony, each doing their part to keep the reef healthy, until one day Coral finds an empty hollow in the reef and decides that she wants to be alone and keep it to herself. When her friends find her there, in a flash of anger, she banishes them from her empty spot on the reef. Amid a now colorless, lifeless reef, Coral realizes her mistake and she sets out to make it right. A full-page spread with Coral on one side shows her reaching out to her friends on the opposite side. She tells them she can't make it a home without them. The three then restore life-and color-back to the reef, making it their home again. The colorful illustrations are reminiscent of an animated, kid-friendly short film and will appeal to young readers. VERDICT A vibrant offering with an environmentally friendly message about collaboration and the interconnectedness that exists in nature and life in order to maintain an essential balance and optimal results. Fans of the first installment will be thrilled with this follow-up.-Megan Kilgallen, Packer Collegiate Institute, Brooklyn

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2020
Coral, Filly, and Manta are three mermaids who coexist well in their beautiful teal sea, each caring for part of the underwater world. Coral maintains the reefs, Filly cares for the small fish, and Manta takes charge of the stingrays and sharks. All is well until Coral discovers a refuge in the reef where she can be alone, away from the rest of sea life. When Filly and Manta discover what Coral has decided to keep only for herself, they try to convince her to share, but Coral's angry words drive her friends away. She soon realizes that isolation is not much fun and reaches out to her friends to "make it right." The mainly blue, pink, and yellow pastel illustrations in Prismacolor pencils begin to fade after the disagreement, as lonely Coral and her reef turn pale and colorless. An appealing variety of perspectives are used to create the charming margin-to-margin pictures. This gentle tale's morals of caring for our friends and working together to take responsibility for our environment are important messages for young children.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)