Julián Is a Mermaid
written and illustrated by Jessica Love Candlewick Press
May 2018written and illustrated by Jessica Love Candlewick Press
This picture book is perfect is so many ways:
the loving Afro-Hispanic abuela and her mijo so perfectly drawn and the crucial expressions so accurately rendered;
the Afro-Hispanic community members rendered so faithfully along with subtle humor sketched in as well;
and the straight-forward story of the 5- or 6-year-old protagonist captured by the beauty and elegance of some passing mermaid costumes and transforming himself into a mermaid with everyday objects around the house.
Forget the politics and the ethos of social judgment -- and just enjoy this book.
