Mellie the Mermaid Is NOT Scared of ANYTHING - Anna Finch - ★★★.¾

AUTHOR: Anna Finch

ILLUSTRATOR: Wathmi de Zoysa

GENRE: Children's Picture Book

RATING: 3.75 stars.

A cute indie picture book that depicts a little mermaid who is never scared, and too confident about her bravery.

Mellie the Mermaid loves to explore the ocean around her. Though her parents advise her to be careful, Mellie is not scared of anything and continues to go further and further in her adventures. However, one fine day, she has an encounter that does give her the jitters. How will this scary experience change her?

I have read many picture books telling kids not to be scared, to step beyond their fear, to be brave. Here’s a book that begins the opposite way. Mellie is shown as being so confident that nothing rattles her. At the same time, she doesn’t heed her parents’ warnings about being careful and hence she goes a step too far. Her sense of curiosity comes out well in the story.

The book works at many levels. It shows children that there is a thin line between being brave and being reckless. It helps them understand why it is good to listen to their parents, who are more knowledgeable about the world around them. It also lets them know that one scary encounter doesn’t mean that they stop adventuring, but to use it as a learning experience and continue exploring with care.

I also liked how Mellie’s parents were not shown as overbearing or controlling. They advise Mellie to take care, and then leave her be. When she comes to them later, they don’t scold her for not listening to their instructions but encourage her to continue being brave. A lesson here for parents too!

While I loved the message of the story, the text left me with slightly mixed feelings. There are many onomatopoeic words and repeated lines that would be great while reading aloud. However, the text seems to shuffle between rhythmic prose and plain prose randomly. The old ship being named ‘Nellie’ was too forceful a rhyme with ‘Mellie’. There are a couple of lines in second person, which don’t fit in with the overall third person narration.

The illustrations are mostly gorgeous. The underwater world is depicted beautifully, and the marine diversity is excellent. I liked Mellie’s look also a lot, though her hair bow kept changing sides abruptly, and I didn’t understand how she was wearing a white top underwater. Her dad was also a bit too well-groomed for a merman. Anyway, let’s chalk all that up to creative license. The book is still pretty to look at, even digitally.

Overall, a great debut attempt with a worthwhile message. The book is aimed at readers aged 3-5 years. Recommended to little readers who are sometimes too brave for their own good.

My thanks to Finch Press and NetGalley for the DRC of “Mellie the Mermaid: Is NOT Scared of ANYTHING”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.