"Abuela, did you see the
mermaids?"
"I saw them, mijo."
"Abuela, I am also a
mermaid."
"I'm going to take a
bath. You be good."
Julian and his abuela are riding the subway home when Julian notices the three mermaids traveling with them. Julian loves mermaids. His dreams are filled with swimming with them, and turning into one. In fact, Julian is convinced that he is a mermaid, too. His grandmother answers his questions, listens to his assertion, and heads off to have a bath.
As she bathes, Julian finds all he needs in her house to transform himself into a mermaid: a crown of ferns and flowers, some lipstick and a gossamer curtain for a tail. When his abuela returns to the living room to find him looking spectacular in his costume, she gets herself dressed, brings him a necklace to wear and take him out to a mermaid parade. Julian makes his mermaid debut as part of that parade, his grandmother proudly accompanying him.
What a truly remarkable picture book this is! Julian knows who he is, his grandmother is totally comfortable with and accepting of his strong sense of self. The watercolor, gouache and ink artwork is full of wonder and bold color. Sicily (3) and I read it daily, and she counted it among her favorites of all the books we read in the five weeks that she was here visiting. She loved Julian's wordless dream sequences where he turned into a mermaid. She noticed how the endpapers changed from front to back. We also named the swimming grandmothers, both front and back, every time we read it: Grandma, Gaga, Baba, Abuela, and Nonna.
You won't forget Juilan, his abuela, or their wonderful story!
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