The Mermaid of Cafur

A seductive but evil mermaid ""with skin as white as a gull's wing and a voice like the song of the harp"" does battle with ""brave, loyal and true"" Meaghan in this leisurely told fantasy. When the sea kingdom of Cafur is raised from the waters each year, the mermaid queen Arianne steals children to serve her in her castle, including Meaghan's brother Ewan. Meaghan and her dog Merlin brave dreadful sea dogs and a green dragon to seek the help of a fearsome sea witch. Meaghan even agrees to give up her cherished Merlin in return for an iron knife, with which she vanquishes Arianne and saves all the stolen children. Whelan (The Barefoot Book of Princesses) uses lavish patterns and gold as well as aqueous colors to create an atmosphere of enchantment. Reminiscent of Victorian marionettes, her characters have round, rouged cheeks and are costumed a bit like circus performers, in striped tights and checkered pants. The narrow, decorated border serves as a stage proscenium, and starfish-patterned curtains open to reveal, for example, the sea witch in a gown of fish-scales, ""[her] hair as tangled as seaweed."" First-timer Foster's plot weaves conventional motifs and figures from Celtic fairy tales--the Brigadoon-like rise of the sea-kingdom; the devotion of a sister for her brother--into a satisfying, albeit somewhat derivative and complicated, story. Ages 4-8. (Feb.)