Melody, the littlest sea princess, is not content just to sing in the choir of mermaids like her sisters. She is an explorer who wonders about what lies above the water's surface... especially the young girl she has spied from a distance. To meet her requires a terrible sacrifice: she trades her beautiful voice for a potion that gives her legs, so that she may live on land instead. It seems like a dream come true at first.
But when trouble stirs beneath the ocean, Melody faces another impossible choice — stay with her friend, or reclaim her true identity and save her family. In this captivating reimagining of Hans Christian Andersen's classic, Caldecott medalist and bestselling artist Jerry Pinkney conjures a poignant friendship story and an epic tale of redemption — a story that empowers young, twenty-first century girls with the strong message that "you should never give up your voice... for anyone."
"Just as Melody appreciates shipwrecks, Zion investigates insects, and before Melody departs, Zion presents her with a chrysalis — a metaphor for Melody’s transformation. 'It is growing wings, and very soon it will fly over land and sea.' The dynamic energy of the ocean currents, portraits of characters of color and entities both real and imagined, and a final battle with the Sea Witch give the undersea spreads breathtaking drama and sumptuousness, while the message (in Zion’s words, 'you should have never given up your voice... for anything') conveys the importance of summoning one’s own power and finding friends who do the same." — Publishers Weekly
Recommended Age | 5 - 9 |
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Author | Jerry Pinkney |
Illustrator | Jerry Pinkney |
ISBN | 0316440310 |
Publication Date | Nov 3, 2020 |
Publisher | Little, Brown Books for Young Readers |
Language | English |