English
4-8 years
- Perseverance
- Friendship
- Whimsy
- STEM
Kelly DiPucchio & Raissa Figueroa
Summary: I was really excited to read this, and was of course instantly drawn in by the ridiculously gorgeous illustrations.
Oona is a mermaid that loves to explore and hunt for treasure with her friend Otto. The pair swim around and lounge with friends, but there’s one object that Oona has her heart set on, but she can’t reach it. Will her adventurous spirit get her into a situation that’s stickier than a sea cucumber?
Raissa Figueroa’s illustrations are brilliant, and the character’s faces are so expressive. I love the dark color palette, it adds to the air of mystery and is easier to imagine being deep under the sea rather than up near the surface. One of my favorite moments is when Oona is lying defeated on the ground, it reminds me of Jessie Sima’s illustrations in Jules Vs. the Ocean!
Something about this story is just fun, and I love the quirky narration style. It’s a little sarcastic and it piques the readers interest with hints about what might happen. It reads a bit longer than what one would think about as an average picture book length, and the author gives a lot of descriptive and situational context. If you have a reader that would enjoy a tale about an inventive Black mermaid, this is the book for you!
This book was kindly sent by HarperKids, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to be able to review it. All opinions and decision to review is my own!
Kelly is the award-winning author of several children’s books, thousands of To-Do lists, and a few recipe cards. Two of her books, Grace For President and The Sandwich Swap, were New York Times bestsellers.
Like most kids who grew up in the 1970’s, Kelly had a pet goat and bought all her clothes from the Sears catalog. Like most teenagers who grew up in the 1980’s, Kelly had really big glasses and feathered hair.
Today, Kelly lives with her husband and three children in southeastern Michigan, where she enjoys writing just about everything except her own bio.
“My name is Raissa Figueroa and I’m currently working out of my bedroom-turned-studio in San Diego as a children’s book Illustrator. It need not be said I also love dogs. Mine is hidden on the site here somewhere hehe. Have a gander around if you’d like! You may stumble on a certain blog I’d really prefer to keep hidden or my Etsy page that’s in dire need of tidying up. Is something on here really has you tickled or you just wanted to say ‘ello! click the button below :)”