![]() ![]() The opening art shows five older women in a pool, looking endearingly lumpy in their loudly patterned swimsuits. The residents of the neighborhood are all brown-skinned, with characters who seem so real, we feel we've met them before. Love sets her story in a neighborhood that's urban - Julián and Abuela take the subway, and girls cavort in a fire hydrant sprinkler - but she slyly shows us that they also live near the ocean: That's a seagull, not a pigeon, strutting on the sidewalk. And by handling most of the story visually, author-illustrator Jessica Love avoids text that might clang or seem preachy. ![]() Julián's imaginative transformation into a mermaid, and his actual transformation via costume, are conveyed via art alone. This is no formulaic "it's fine for boys to be mermaids" story. ![]() There's so much to praise in Julián Is a Mermaid, beginning with its original handling of the subject. In this delightful, mermaid-themed heartwarmer, gender is as fluid as the sea Julián dreams of swimming in. ![]()
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