The News Center at 218 N Washington Street in the Talbot Town Shopping Center will host a reading and signing for The Mermaid in Rehoboth Bay, a new children’s picture book published by Cat & Mouse Press, on September 17 at 2pm. The book’s award-winning author, Nancy Sakaduski, will be on hand to read the story and sign books.The Mermaid in Rehoboth Bay has been getting rave reviews from parents and librarians as well as kids for its enchanting illustrations and captivating story.
Mermaids have fascinated children and adults for hundreds of years, and The Mermaid in Rehoboth Bay captures that allure while providing a child-pleasing story of friendship, respect for differences, and overcoming obstacles.Readers will love the highly detailed illustrations that depict two parallel story lines—one that follows a girl who lives near the sea but is afraid of the water, and one that follows a child-like mermaid who finds herself far from home.
A storm has hit coastal Delaware and washed a young mermaid named Nibi across land and into a bay, separating her from her family, friends, and ocean home. Terra, a girl who lives nearby, is afraid of the water, so she misses out on swimming with her friends and wading in the bay to collect shells. The two discover each other, become friends, and find a way to solve their problems together. The story’s ending is wonderfully satisfying and appropriate for young children.
When author Nancy Sakaduski and illustrator Marcella Harte collaborated on the project, they agreed they wanted to create a book that children and their parents would enjoy and want to read again and again. “I know what it’s like to have to reread a favorite book a thousand times,” says Sakaduski, “so I wanted the text to be playful and provide opportunities for the parent and child to interact. We also made a point to provide layers of meaning so readers have something new to discover each time.”
Harte did her part by tucking some hidden gems into the illustrations. For example, each character has a companion animal (a seagull and a sea turtle) that follows her through the story. These animals never speak or appear to be anything other than natural creatures, but they spark discoveries and ideas. Each character also wears a necklace of found items, and they add to their necklaces as the book (and their friendship) progresses. The mermaid is collecting things that are unusual to her—man-made debris found in the ocean (a soda can pull-tab, a discarded sand shovel, a key) and the child is collecting things that are unusual to her—items from the ocean found on shore (seashells, a sand dollar).
Sakaduski and Harte also wanted the characters in the book to look like real children and not be overly mature or idealized, and agreed that the setting should showcase the beauty of nature. Harte went so far as to hire a child model so she could depict natural poses and childlike body characteristics.The book includes environmental themes, and adults may enjoy helping children notice the differences between the bay environment and the ocean and pointing out how the children are cleaning up their environments as they pick up objects to add to their necklaces.
The first thing many people notice is the quality of the illustrations in the book. “These are individual watercolor paintings, not computer-generated illustrations,” says Sakaduski. “Every page is a work of art.” The meticulously detailed scenes draw readers in and tell their own story. In fact, there are several spreads with no words at all to distract from the spectacular illustrations, which include a night scene with glowing fireflies and luna moths, and a dream of an undersea world that includes jellyfish, dolphins, and whales.
The Mermaid in Rehoboth Bay is available only through stores and the publisher’s website: www.catandmousepress.com. The 32-page hardcover book with dust jacket retails for $19.95.
Cat & Mouse Press was established to produce books and other materials that are fun, entertaining, and of particular interest to residents and visitors to the Delmarva region. The company publishes a free weekly newspaper for writers, Writing is a Shore Thing (www.writingisashorething.com). For more information, visit the company’s website at www.catandmousepress.com or its Facebook page, www.facebook.com/catandmousepress.
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