I’m there because Jessica Love has been granted a very remarkable gift. I can smell the apartment that Julián shares with his abuela. A book like Julián Is a Mermaid comes along and there. And then one day, my waiting is rewarded. You cannot require an illustrator to be able to capture the intangible in their art. Imbuing a book with that kind of realism is beyond difficult, though. When I enter a character’s house I want to almost be able to smell the shampoo in the carpet or the faint aroma of dinner from the night before. It is this experience of walking into a house and being overwhelmed by the sense of the place that I hope for in my picture books. I love it when a friend moves house because when I walk into their new home it smells just like their previous place of occupancy, with just a twinge of difference. Homes absorb the lives of their occupants, and the end result is as much an olfactory experience a visual one. When you walk into another person’s home, there’s always a distinct smell to the place. Recommended for everyone who supports mermaids. I love the representation of the curvy, old and wrinkly. The watercolor is understated, in keeping with the watery theme, but there’s lovely pops of color to draw the eye. Still, it’s a sweet little story, and one that should particularly resonate with those in a NYC kind of setting, where the public street is actually community space.ĭrawings and message–despite not choosing the water mermaids–are fabulous. Julian seems to be undecided, but ultimately picks the land mermaids. I’m more of the water mermaid demographic.

He seems to have confused water mermaids with land mermaids, which are two entirely different species. I’m just not an au natural nudist kind of person, you know? But I'm not a glamour-girl either, so add lipstick and hair-out-to-there, and I feel like I’m getting a very mixed message. But every time you turn around, Julián is stripping down to his skivvies. I mean, the pictures are adorable and well done, and I would love to have one of him swimming with the stream of fish up in my bathroom.

Julián Is a Mermaid by Jessica Love