Nen and the Lonely Fisherman

by Ian Eagleton, James Mayhew (Illustrator)

Overview

An adventurous merman and kind fisherman find love and each other in this gorgeous update to the Little Mermaid story.

Winner of the Polari Prize, the UK's first and largest LGBTQ+ book award.

Far out at sea and deep below whispering waves lives a merman searching for a partner.

In the forbidden world above, a kind fisherman wonders if something more is waiting for him beyond the horizon.

When they find each other under a star-filled sky, their love will change both of their worlds.

Celebrate queer joy and the uniting power of love with this award-winning, inclusive retelling of a classic fairy tale.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781499817362
Publisher:	little bee books
Publication date:	04/02/2024
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	33 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Ian Eagleton is the director of The Reading Realm and a content creator and resource writer for various educational organizations, including The Literacy Shed and Authorfy. Ian has taught in elementary schools for thirteen years. He especially enjoys sharing picture books, poetry and creative writing activities with the children he teaches. You can follow Ian on Twitter at @MrEagletonIan

James Mayhew is an Award-winning author & illustrator with a love for music and storytelling. His books have received honors by The New York Times, the Carnegie Greenaway awards, the Polari Prize, and others, but the best reward for James is seeing a child with one of his stories. He also gives frequent concerts where he paints to music. His collaborators include the London Mozart Players, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. For more information visit jamesmayhew.co.uk

Editorial Reviews

Bright splashes of yellow jump out from a soothing seaside palette in this fantastical LGBTQ+ picture book. Though he loves the ocean, there is one thing Nen, a merman, cannot find even in its unfathomable depths: love. Every night, Nen sings his sorrow out over the sea; his song reaches a lonely fisherman, Ernest, who sets out in search of the singer. Together, they discover that nothing-not even a raging storm-can conquer love.

Foreward Reviews

★ 2024-01-05
A fisherman and a merman find love by the sea.

Nen, a merman with a golden fishtail, loves exploring the world of humans. One day, as he swims close to shore, he notices that one of the fishermen seems different from the others. Ernest is gentle and creative, and he rescues sea birds accidentally snared by nets. Both are lonely, and when they meet one night under the moon, they fall in love. Nen’s father, Pelagios, frustrated at Nen’s insistence on interacting with humans, who are hurting the ocean, creates a storm that pulls Ernest under. But Nen saves him, and Pelagios sees that he was wrong. In the end, Ernest and Nen meet happily at the shore, sitting on the rocks and holding hands. The ending is a pleasant departure from the “Little Mermaid” template; neither man needs to fundamentally change who he is so they can be together. It’s a tender fairy tale with no heavy-handed moral, though the importance of love and of respecting the ocean comes through clearly. The illustrations have a sketchy simplicity to them, but they are sweet and moody, with the warm colors depicting Nen and Ernest standing out against an ocean of blues and grays. There are also plenty of cute sea creatures to spot. Young readers who appreciate fairy tales, love stories, or mermaids will be enchanted. Nen and Pelagios are brown-skinned and dark-haired, while Ernest has pale skin and red hair.

A moving celebration of love. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews