Robin Riding

A young girl imagines that there are mermaids underneath the waters, fast asleep, in this rhyming bedtime book from author Robin Riding and illustrator Zoe Persico. The simple text has her constructing an entire going-to-bed scenario, with merfathers and mermothers putting merbabies to bed, and everyone counting fish instead of sheep. As she continues to imagine the gentle routine in this underwater world, the girl on land is slowly lulled to sleep herself...

We often get requests for mermaid picture-books at work, so I was quite pleased when Mermaids Fast Asleep came in. A debut for Riding, it features a gentle text that will read well aloud, and colorful, cute artwork. Persico's palette here reminds me a bit of the work of Brigitte Barrager, in such books as Uni the Unicorn, and although her style is sometimes a bit too cute and cartoonish for me, I think it suits the sweet dream-world of the narrator quite well. I also appreciated the fact that the mermaid world depicted is a diverse one, so children of all backgrounds will be able to imagine themselves into that magical world. Recommended to young mermaid lovers, and to anyone looking for new and magical bedtime books for the younger picture-book set.… (mais)