The Girl and the Mermaid
Hollie Hughes and Sarah Cassini
Bloomsbury Children’s Books

Readers follow the touching and uplifting story of Alina and her granny, residents of a lighthouse. Every evening the two share tales of mermaids woven by Granny as she sips her tea but now these wondrous stories have become faded and forgotten, gone from her memory. Broken hearted at the pain this causes her granny, Alina’s greatest desire is to bring back those stories.

Then one day as she gazes out to sea, she’s surprised to see a mermaid dive from the nearby rocks. The mermaid calls to her urging, “Swim with me … through swirling, whirling ideas to where your granny’s stories are, and many more besides.” Knowing for certain now that Granny’s tales were true, the girl plunges into the waves and follows the mermaid. She discovers wondrous sights such as coral reefs, sunken treasure, shoals of shining fish and other wonders of the deep.

She also encounters other merfolk and receives something special to take back home.

Back at the lighthouse once again, Alina knows it’s now her task to ensure that the tales are kept alive and help them fly far and wide. She’s now Alina the Lightkeeper who will keep Granny’s stories brightly burning.

What a wondrous book to share with children at home or school. The portrayal of the relationship between the two generations is superbly portrayed in both Hollie’s lyrical rhyming text and Sarah’s watercolour scenes that will surely tug gently at the heartstrings of adult readers aloud.