The Girl and The Mermaid
For ages 3+
The love and kindness of a girl who wants to help her Granny remember her magical childhood stories.
By Hollie Hughes, illustrated by Sarah Massini (Bloomsbury, 2024)
They’re back - the author:illustrator duo and publishing team behind the much-loved, bestselling, ‘The Girl and The Dinosaur’ (Bloomsbury, 2020), and I’m absolutely thrilled to share their new Children’s picture book ‘The Girl and The Mermaid’, which has all the feels of their first book, and then some! Did you know that Sarah Massini’s books have been translated into 25 languages - how amazing is that! Sarah absolutely blew me away last year with the illustrations she did with Children’s creator, Anna Wilson, ‘Grandpa and the Kingfisher’ (Nosy Crow, 2023). Interestingly, Anna Wilson and Hollie Hughes have also worked on a number of Children’s picture books together too. Do you think they’re all the very best of friends in real life? How lovely.
Magical and happy memories we make when we are children are the memories we absolutely want hard-wired into our brains so that we can revisit them again and again over the course of our lives, and then share them with our children, and grand-children. What happens to our minds though when we get old? We might become forgetful or start to lose our memories due to an illness. In ‘The Girl and The Mermaid’, Hollie’s sensitive, wistful and delicate verses tell the story, while Sarah’s amazing watercolour illustrations draw the reader and listener into the lives of two very special friends, Alina and her Granny. It’s a winning pairing!
Alina lives with her Granny in a gorgeous red and white striped lighthouse upon a rock in the middle of the sea, seagulls swirling above and a sunny breeze catching the crests of the waves. In the evenings they sit together, cosy in the dim light, over a cup of tea, flower weaving while Granny tells her doting grand-daughter stories of mermaids. As Granny gets older her stories become harder to recall, and this really starts to get her down, which is so sad for Alina to witness. What can she possibly do to help? While gazing out to sea she sees something unbelievable… a beautiful mermaid, and she’s waving to her! “Swim with me” she calls!
Alina dives into the sea and incredibly she can breathe underwater. There are wonderful scenes of Alina and the mermaid exploring the depths with turtles, whales, sharks and stingrays. The stunning artwork brings the energy of Alina’s adventure to life. A bright light shines ahead of them, and as they swim closer, an illuminated, busy, merfolk kingdom comes into view. A gift of a large beautiful shell topped up with stories from the magic well is given to Alina to take back to her Granny, and once back at the lighthouse together, Alina and Granny share the stories in a very clever way.
What an absolutely tender story, filled with love and inter-generational family sentiment. Playing on themes of light; shining light on helping our older generations, caring for them, listening to their stories and helping them to cherish their happy memories. As the story draws to a close, you have a wonderful sense of peace and goosebumps; it’s a happy ending that you can imagine children falling asleep to at bedtime, all calm and relaxed, dreaming of magical adventures of their own. ‘The Girl and The Mermaid’ is adorable, like a warm hug sparkling with fairy dust, that can be enjoyed again and again.
Praise
An instant classic featuring an inspirational underwater adventure and a moving homage to the beauty and power of memory ... A gift book for all the family to enjoy ― Lancashire Post
With equal pinches of whimsy and heart, this is a memorable tale that shines a light on the special bond shared between grandparents and grandchildren ... Magical. ― Inis Magazine
Reviewed from self-purchased hardback copy.
“Thank you SO SO much - what a lovely review - I love ‘and then some’. Very happy indeed that you like our Girl and Mermaid too.”
