Mermaid School

June 1, 2018
Mermaids experience their first day of school, and it's much the same as readers' own first days, with a few ocean twists.Rhyming verses follow Molly, a mermaid with an upbeat, can-do attitude, as she heads off to Mermaid School. Outside, she finds a similarly fishtailed boy among the kelp. " 'Why are you hiding?' I ask Squirt. / 'There's no one here I know.' / 'Well, we can fix that in a flash. / Let's go and say hello.' " Miss Marina, the teacher, leads them in and shows them their cubbies, where they'll put their "tailpacks" (they are worn just like backpacks, though). Then there's counting seashells and making art with them, singing the "A-B-Seas," music class (complete with trumpetfish and drum fish), recess, lunch ("clamburgers" and seaweed pie), circle time, storytime (a fantasy about tailless boys and girls), and the singing of the goodbye song. A page from the "Mermaid School Handbook" follows, emphasizing a few rules and noting some after-school activities. Swaney's illustrations, seemingly watercolor, are full of small details that suit the underwater setting. Both boys and girls are called mermaids throughout, and all wear sleeveless tops. Though their faces are sweet, they are not overly expressive. Skin and hair color are diverse (Molly presents white); all the tails are a light green. This may have readers wishing their own first days happened underwater. (Picture book. 3-6)

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June 4, 2018
A mermaid’s first day of school is strikingly similar to the one experienced by her human counterparts. Once the making-new-friends jitters dissipate, things go swimmingly: the narrator and her classmates bond with each other and their teachers, take ownership of their coral reef cubbies, learn math concepts with seashells, and sing their “A-B-Seas.” They’re also riveted at story time by a “fantasy” about “boys and girls who have no tails/And can’t breathe undersea.” The message in the soothing, sing-song rhymes by Wetzel (Playing Juliet) is evident: “When I arrive, there’s no one here/ That I have met before./ But I can make new friends at school./ I’m always glad for more.” Readers may be heartened by the little mermaids’ independence (no parents appear) and their ability to quickly master a new environment. Unflappable, doll-like characters and sea-green-toned watercolors by Swaney (If You’re Happy and You Know It!) lend the pages a dreamy, comforting feel. Ages 3–7.

January 1, 2019
All goes swimmingly for narrator Molly at her first day of Mermaid School. The teacher, Miss Marina, leads her multicultural fish-tailed students (both female and male) through familiar-with-a-twist activities, from storytime ("of boys and girls who have no tails") to singing the "A-B-Seas." Soft, aquatic-hued illustrations suit the reassuring rhyming verse. Tips in the appended "Mermaid School Handbook" could help land-dwelling new students, too.

(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)