Mermaid Dreams

At the beach, where “the air smells fresh and salty,” a shy child named Maya falls asleep. As she dreams, she rides on her green turtle floaty, diving beneath the waves, “Maya slides off her turtle and realizes she can swim just like the other ocean dwellers.” She’s become a mermaid with a blue tail that comes up snug around her chest. Pugsley illustrates in a naïf style: Maya has almost doll-like features, while underwater flora and fauna—wavy green sea plants, speckled corals, and a deep red octopus—are rendered in thick, painterly shapes. Maya’s eventual meeting with a fellow mermaid leads to her making a friend above water—a child named Pearl (“ ‘Let’s pretend we’re mermaids,’ whispers Pearl”). A dreamy beach day outing. Ages 3–7. [em](Apr.) [/em]