The Mermaid Moon

This book is magical! The Mermaid Moon follows an exciting time in two friends' lives; a time when moon magic allows for sea creatures to swim through the air and enter the human world. For Molly, and her mermaid best friend Merrin, this gives them an opportunity to be together like never before. They have a wonderful adventure visiting the Mermaid Moon festival, eating ice-cream and visiting Molly's bedroom, where Merrin compares her underwater world to her friend's dry environment.

Their strong friendship shines throughout the story. However, when the moon begins to set, and the magic begins to run out, Molly and Merrin fall into trouble but the girls find a way to end the night safe and sound in their own elements.

The artwork in this book is absolutely enchanting, each page brings about a sense of whimsical magic. My daughter and I spent time looking at each beautiful image, discussing the small details that make this book feel that it is keeping mythical secrets for the reader to uncover.

We would absolutely recommend this beautiful story of friendship to all children, and adults alike! The story is a little longer than a typical picture book. This, along with the interesting concepts and atmospheric illustrations, make it suitable for children who would normally have moved on from picture books, as well as younger children. My eight-year-old daughter was highly engaged by the story and pictures, yet she is a fluent reader and confidently reading novels.

I also feel, as a teacher, this book has a lot of potential to use in literacy lessons for all primary school children. Teachers could use it to explore the fantasy genre, explore how friendships can be formed in unlikely circumstances, and because the illustrations are so powerful, this book could be used to explore how art creates atmosphere and the literacy devices that support this, e.g. strong adjectives and beautiful similes. 

Picture book / Reviewed by Jemma Jeffrey, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 3+