The Mermaid and the Shoe

February 10, 2014
Campbell, the illustrator of Kate DiCamillo’s Newbery Medal–winning Flora and Ulysses, crafts a mermaid story that shares a few superficial similarities with that of a certain redheaded Disney character from under the sea. Minnow doesn’t quite fit in with her sisters, and she’s full of questions, especially about a mysterious object (a red shoe) that drifts down from the world above. Minnow’s search for answers eventually takes her to the surface, where she spies a gangly, gap-toothed human girl, and all becomes clear: “Minnow finally knew exactly what the lovely things were for. Concealed within was another set of... hands.” Using watercolor and pencil crayon, Campbell paints Minnow and her 50 sisters as identical waifs, with delicate yellow-green tails, pale skin, paler hair, and a pair of tiny clamshells on their otherwise bare torsos. The result is an eerie emphasis on their inhumanity. Luckily, the artwork is also full of subtle humor—Campbell definitively answers the question of what a shrugging octopus looks like—and the story solidly delivers its message about the value of inquisitiveness, adventurousness, and storytelling. Ages 3–7. Agent: Lori Nowicki, Painted Words.

Starred review from March 15, 2014
Unlike her talented older sisters, a little mermaid feels disappointingly ordinary until her curiosity unveils her special skills. Each of King Neptune's 50 mermaid daughters has a remarkable talent--except Minnow, who asks lots of questions, like why crabs don't have fins, where bubbles go and what lies beyond their underwater kingdom. Her sister Calypso dismissively chides her to "stop asking useless questions...and be remarkable." When Minnow discovers a mysterious object no one can identify, she's determined to find out what it is. Her relentless curiosity carries her above water, where Minnow sees a girl wearing a pair of shoes similar to the mysterious object. With her questions answered, Minnow triumphantly returns to her underwater family, heralded as a "daring explorer." Delicate, ethereal watercolor-and-colored-pencil illustrations rely on muted blue-gray washes accented with splashes of color to convey Neptune's underwater kingdom, with its flora and fauna. Kelp-enclosed cameo close-ups of Minnow and her sisters with white, gossamer hair and golden-scaled tails alternate with luminous double-page spreads featuring diminutive Minnow, carrying a scarlet shoe and fearlessly ascending from the dark underwater world into the brilliant sun and sky, where she watches a "landmaid" reveal the secret of shoes. Although this luminous tale of self-discovery has echoes of "The Little Mermaid," like Minnow, it sings its own strong song. (Picture book. 3-7)

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April 1, 2014

Gr 1-4-Created with watercolor and pencil crayon, this tale is unique in its style. One of Neptune's 50 daughters, Minnow doesn't think she is remarkable. In fact, she thinks she's truly useless, with no talent of her own. Her only companion is a little orange sea horse. Minnow is a curious mermaid, always asking questions that no one seems to understand. One day she finds a dainty little red shoe. It is only when she sets out on an adventure to learn about the purpose of shoes that she truly realizes that she is an explorer. The mermaid finds answers to her questions and rushes home to tell everyone of all that she has learned. While there is no sea witch to be found in this work that is reminiscent of Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid, Minnow's narcissistic sister Calypso is quite mean. Campbell's illustrations employ ample blues and grays to portray deep waters of the sea. The mermaids are all identical, with fair skin, white hair, and thin bodies. It is only when Minnow catches a glimpse of the human world that the pages become vibrant with hues of red, yellow, and orange. This book is suitable for independent reading as well as a read-aloud. Minnow's tale will remind readers that it is okay to ask questions and seek answers, to stand out and be unique.-H. Islam, Brooklyn Public Library

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