Picture books are my current go-to as they make me happy. They are quick, usually fun, and you can say, “By George the Third! I have finished a book!” And that sense of accomplishment is a real mood booster! However, I read a book that gave me the “I finished a book feeling” but also had a “That was not what I needed” feeling as well.
I will start with the negatives of Mermaid and Pirate. This picture book has some bumps with the flow of text. Such as when did the pirate get in the water to hide his treasure? Of course, there are others but that was one of the most obvious ones. And second, while I am not sure the actual form they were created in, but Leisl Adams had their illustrations fall flat for me. They are too polished, too computerized, and too, well just “too muchness.” They are well detailed and terribly colorful, but the color makes it even more off for me. And that did not settle well for me.
Now the positives, it is a nice story about diversity (our two main characters are of color), and it turns into a more happy “Little Mermaid” story (the mermaid and pirate communicate without anyone changing who they are or selling voices). There is a nice story of friendship and the idea of empathy. But overall, this book was not a plus for me.
I hope it will be a larger board book or in a paper format and not a traditional hardcover picture book as this would fit Tracey Baptiste’s story and the age I feel it is for (ages three and up) well.
