Julian LOVES mermaids! What do you love? How does what you love create and define you? Betsy Bird writing in the US School Library Journal, 2018: click here to read the full review Let’s hope it finds the ones that need it most. Lord knows there are some people out there that will need it. Let’s just simplify things and say it’s a book for the human race. This is a book for mermaids and boys and girls and parents and teachers and booksellers and librarians and. Love’s dramatic sense of place and space creates an immersive and involving read, and her theatrical experience is evident in every gesture and expansive spread. crumb-trail of emotional identification, that would bring everyone who reads the book, regardless of their own background or identity, safely through the forest and out into the sunshine.”Īnd what sunshine it is! From the very first pages Julian fizzes with colour and light, evoking the city streets with such force that we can almost smell the tarmac. Because everyone knows what hope feels like.
Says Love in an interview for The Horn Book. “I wanted those kids who might start the book saying, “Hey, why is he in a dress? He’s a boy!” to go on the journey with him, feel empathy when he is downcast and elation when he finds his people. “My greatest hope was that the book would find not only the kids who immediately identify with Julian because they share certain characteristics - a love of dress-up, color, beauty - but that it would find the kids who don’t share those interests" So it doesn't come as a surprise to discover that Love has worked as a theatre actor for many years - she has the kind of understanding that comes from successfully inhabiting characters on stage, and extends these insights to her readers. Time spent with Julian allows us to see the world through his eyes and the joyful conclusion to his story is something we can all celebrate.Įvery page in this lovely book explodes with space and light, creating stages for the characters to strut their stuff, and the minimal text gives them a voice while allowing us to observe, imagine and connect. Luckily for Julian, Nana’s heart is big enough and wise enough to understand that what he needs is recognition and acceptance - and the chance to celebrate with others dressed in shiny tails and plumage, just like him!įaultlessly observed, stylish and with an understated warmth that really makes it stand out, Julian is a Mermaid has something important to say about identity and self-esteem. “You be good,” says Nana, heading off to take a bath.Īll Julian can think about is dressing up. Julian imagines being a mermaid Copyright Jessica Love for Walker Booksīack at Nana’s house, Julian admits shyly that he is “also a mermaid.”
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