Ladybug Nominee

The Mermaid With No Tail by Jessica Long and Airin O'Callaghan (Sounds True, 2023)

Paralympic champion swimmer and gold medalist Jessica Long celebrates the importance of dreaming big and the power of being different. Dive into this book based on Jessica’s story, where a mermaid with no tail decides she wants to compete in the Mermaid Games. The other mermaids make fun of her for being different. But her adoptive turtle parents are supportive and encouraging, and her shark coach, Phelpsy, teaches her to swim using her arms. The mermaid trains hard, maintains a good attitude, and eventually wins the games.

About Jessica Long

As a baby, Jessica was adopted from a Russian orphanage. Because she was born with fibular hemimelia, her legs were amputated below the knee when she was 18 months old. Despite this, Jessica has become a world-class Paralympic swimmer and one of the most decorated  athletes of all time. She lives in Baltimore, Maryland, with her husband, Lucas, and their dog, Goose. Her website is at https://jessicalong.com

About Airin O'Callaghan

Airin moved from Boston to Spain when she was six and now lives in Berkeley, California. She is an illustrator, an artist, and a mom. Her website is at https://www.airinocallaghan.com/

Activities & Links

• Check out this read aloud at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjQwyQDuDfo
• Michael Phelps wrote the foreword for this book. Learn more about him at https://olympics.com/en/athletes/michael-phelps-ii
• Learn about the paralympic games at https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/Paralympic-Games/599583 
• Read about fibular hemimelia at https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/fibular-hemimelia.html
• Artsy Craftsy Mom includes a post with mermaid crafts at https://artsycraftsymom.com/mermaid-crafts-for-kids/

Suggestions for Further Reading

• If you want another book featuring a mermaid check out Julian is a Mermaid by Jessica Love. There is a list of enchanting mermaid books for kids at https://www.readbrightly.com/mermaid-books-for-kids/ compiled by Brightly.
  
• For another under-sea adventure consider Inky's Amazing Escape by Sy Montgomery and Amy Schimler-Safford.
• Check out more books about perseverance at https://nhbookcenter.blogspot.com/2024/02/ladybug-longlist-perseverance.html
  

 

This is one of nine titles nominated for the 2024 Ladybug Picture Book Award.

We will be posting information about a different nominee each Friday throughout the summer and will issue a pdf voters guide featuring all the titles at Labor Day.