The Tiptoe Guide to Tracking Mermaids

by Ammi-Joan Paquette, Marie LeTourneau (Illustrator)

Overview

On hot summer days, the beaches are packed with all kinds of people swimming, splashing, or lying in the sun. But there are other days—magical ones—when the beach is empty. Whoosh! The wind tosses up the sand in curling eddies. Kazoom! The waves cymbal-crash against the shore. Yes! Days like these are just right for finding mermaids. Have you ever walked on the beach and looked for shells or or clams? There are creatures, more like you and me, who are even more interesting to look for. Most people don't see them, but they might just not know how to look for signs. That sand dollar—why, that could be a mermaid-size surfboard. Those twisted reeds—a bed for a lovely afternoon mermaid nap. And if you peer closely into the water, you might see a mermaid market. This is a lovely activity for a fun day at the beach and a way to encourage paying close attention to all the interesting things that can be found on the beach or in the water.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781933718590
Publisher:	Tanglewood
Publication date:	02/07/2012
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	7.40(w) x 5.90(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	630L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 8 Years

About the Author

Ammi-Joan has been writing stories since early childhood. She and her sister would spend hours creating masterpieces of stapled paper and handwritten words, complete with pen-and-ink covers and boxed illustrations. Her favorite part of the process was creating a list for the back cover: “Don’t miss the other books in this series!” That list of eye-catching titles always seemed like way less work than (hand) writing out a whole book. But isn’t that just the way of things? Ammi lives with her husband and two daughters in the Boston area. Her first picture book, The Tiptoe Guide to Tracking Fairies, was published in 2009, and she has continued to write (and agent) books for children and young adults.

Marie Letourneau is a full-time illustrator and graphic artist, with a BA in Fine Arts from Hofstra University’s New College on Long Island. Marie illustrated Is a Worry Worrying You?, The Tiptoe Guide to Tracking Mermaids, and was the author and illustrator for The Mice of Bistrot des Sept Frères. She and her family live in New York.

Editorial Reviews

" . . . there are other days — magical ones — when the beach is empty. Whoosh! The wind tosses up the sand in curling eddies . . . Days like these are just right for finding mermaids."
— from the book

From the Publisher

PreS-Gr 1—This book is similar to Paquette's The Tiptoe Guide to Tracking Fairies (Tanglewood, 2009). Now on a mermaid hunt, the children look from tidal pool to open beach and everywhere in between. They wonder what sea dollars will buy at the mermaid market, and imagine the fabled creatures cavorting with crabs, dolphins, and seahorses. The frolicking mermaids are, of course, all around, but are unseen by the children until a message in a bottle leads them to the mermaids' hiding place. Readers will no doubt delight in being able to see the clearly visible mermaids when the characters cannot. Letourneau's illustrations follow in Christa Unzner's footsteps in "Fairies" (Minedition). Beach and underwater scenes are photographs superimposed with cartoon images of fabulous mermaids. Periodically readers see the children, whose outfits and appearance change throughout. The artwork is a welcome relief to Paquette's bland text, which is sprinkled with words in different colors and fonts, leading to the false belief that there might be a glossary. Purchase where Paquette's previous picture book has done well or where mermaid stories are a must-have.—Catherine Callegari, Gay-Kimball Library, Troy, NH

School Library Journal

This second Tiptoe Guide (The Tiptoe Guide to Tracking Fairies, 2010) has readers scouring the seashore for mermaids and imagining what their lives must be like. Not a story, but not a guidebook in the traditional sense either, this is more of a fits-and-starts foray into imagination that may leave many of its readers behind. Listen to a conch shell's secrets, search a tidal pool for evidence of baby mermaids, imagine shells as mermaid jewelry, sand dollars as money and ocean plants as food, with crabs scrounging the leftovers. But the author goes beyond readers' reach, as the mermaids play with dolphins, swim amid the coral and carry out their daily activities (primping, napping, shopping) on the ocean floor. While Paquette's first capitalized on the popularity of fairy houses and the easy accessibility of most to the great outdoors, this latest narrows its readership by focusing on the ocean. It further disappoints this limited audience by highlighting beachcombing finds that are relatively rare, if not geographically impossible: perfect sand dollars and conch shells, ocean plants, tide pools--not to mention the warm-enough-for-a-bathing-suit but nonetheless deserted, beach. Letourneau layers her fanciful watercolor mermaids atop beautiful photographs, which gives a jarring feel to the artwork. Further, when the text asks readers, "Can you see any mermaids anywhere?" she makes no effort at hiding them. The glittery cover and promise of mermaids may attract readers initially, but there is little here to lure them for repeated readings. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews