I am a Meadow Mermaid

I recently read I am a Meadow Mermaid by Kallie George and illustrated by Elly MacKay with my three-year-old granddaughter. She loves all things mermaid. On a recent sun-soaked day, we went and played in a stream near her home. She quicly found a rock for her Little Mermaid moment, her chest stretching proudly to the sky, Ariel-style, ah-ah-ah’s ascending too, louder and louder. Her sisters did a show on a rock stage. We found plenty of treasures in the stream too. There is something magical about nature, imagination, and children (for adults too). We all came away happier.

I think that’s why I like Kallie’s book so much. The main character is only introduced to us as a meadow mermaid, which is just the way my granddaughter would introduce herself too, in the same situation. The main character owns her mermaid status despite her landlocked prarie home. She swims through grass, feels the wind (aka hair dryer), and dreams of water (in the sprinklers). Eventually she even saves a shipwrecked sailor (aka bike-wrecked girl), who becomes a friend, uh I mean a prarie pirate.

This book feels so true to the way younger children think and imagine, to the way they turn everything into something else. I love imagination and children, and I love how Kallie’s book captures it. Elly’s illustrations are beautiful as well. Way to go ladies!