Briony May Smith, The Mermaid Moon, Walker Books Australia, June 2023, 32 pp., RRP $29.95 (hbk), ISBN 9781529509625
This is a delightful fantasy about Molly and her best friend, Merrin, a mermaid who lives in a cave deep below the local harbour. Once a year the village celebrates the Mermaid Moon Festival, decorating the streets with fairy lights and seashell bunting.
Merrin and all the sea creatures swim through the air to visit the human world. Merrin has to return to her home before the moon sets, and naturally there is a last-minute hitch meaning the story becomes a race against time.
The illustrations present the village and mermaid cave in the detail that children love. As one expects with Walker Books, the attention to design is impressive from the seaweed endpapers to the cheeky ending: fin. Recommended.
Ages 2-6.
Reviewed by Elizabeth Douglas
