From bestselling creators of The Girl and the Dinosaur comes a new picture book about the value of imagination and storytelling, and the love between a girl and her grandmother.
Alina lives in a lighthouse by the sea: a home filled with the warmth of Granny's magical stories.
But Alina is worried. Granny's memories and stories are starting to fade away, and she doesn't know how to bring them back. Then, one day, Alina meets a mermaid on the rocks near the lighthouse-and she's swept into a magical adventure deep under the sea. Can the mermaid help her find the stories, and can Alina help to keep the memories shining brightly?
This heartwarming picture book takes readers on a deep and fanciful journey to explore the importance of family, memory, imagination, and storytelling.---from the publisher
32 pages 978-1547614349 Ages 4-7
Keywords: grandmother, storytelling, mermaid, adventure, fantasy and magic, family, memories, 4 year old, 5 year old, 6 year old, 7 year old
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On a wave-swept ridge of rock, standing proud and all alone,
Clings the old and creaky lighthouse that Alina calls her home...
Alina looks after and works the shining light now that her Granny has grown too old, and that doesn't bother her at all. What she is concerned about is that Granny's memory is fading and she is forgetting all the wonderful stories that she used to tell about the creatures that live beneath the waves including the mythical merfolk. How will they continue the magic if Granny can't remember them to tell?
Then one day, she sees a mermaid dive into the water from the rocks below, beckoning Alina to follow her as she takes her on a wondrous journey that changes everything... ‘Swim with me ," the mermaid calls, "through swirling, whirling tides, to where your granny’s stories are, and many more besides’
This is a sensitive, enchanting story that tells of a little girl's total acceptance of her grandmother's decline but her determination to keep both the memories and her Granny flourishing as shoe follows the mermaid without hesitation, her childhood innocence fully trusting and accepting that this will have a happy ending. Beautiful watercolour illustrations are literally entwined with the text, carrying the story deeper and deeper under the ocean, until the source of the stories is revealed, confirming every little person's vision of what is really under the waves.
Connections between generations are so important for the mental health and social well-being of all privileged to share them, and this is another story that not only celebrates the relationship between Alina and her grandmother but demonstrates how significant it is. And while it may provoke the children to share stories of their grandmothers, and perhaps even the stories they tell, there is something special about Alina's granny being the lighthouse keeper that appeals... Breaking the stereotype...
This review can also be found here.
Recommended by: Barbara Braxton, Teacher Librarian, New South Wales AUSTRALIA
