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3.5 AVERAGE
3.5 AVERAGE
New York City has changed a lot in the past 30 years. Used to be a grittier, seedier town. Graffiti and wild parties. Love and violence. And when New York had a parade it was an adults only affair. Today that seediness has receded, leaving everything a little more family friendly. You walk in Times Square and sex shops don’t appear to the eye. You can attend the Greenwich Village Halloween parade without worrying about excessive nudity. Really, one of the few parades left in the city that successfully melds that old-time wildness with the newfangled kid-friendly vibe is Coney Island’s annual Mermaid Parade. Boobs and babies, that’s what you’ll see these days. It seems an odd parade to celebrate in the format of a picture book, but Mermaid Parade attendee and illustrator Melanie Hope Greenberg is up to the challenge. With her bold colors and sense of pizzazz, Greenberg brings to life an event that continues to enthrall both children and adults alike with a love of fun, costumes, and general unavoidable weirdness.
A young girl puts on a mermaid costume, but not just for the fun of playing dress-up. The summer solstice is nigh and it’s time for the yearly Mermaid Parade at Coney Island. This year the girl will be participating with her mom and dad and they’ve come up with the perfect outfit to wow the judges. Joining them are crowds of other participants and everyone gets a number. Then, as people dressed as King Neptune and Queen Mermaid lead on, everyone marches down the boardwalk and around the streets for all the happy onlookers. The route ends at the sandy shore, but that’s not all there is to it. The Costume Judges look everyone over carefully and by the end of the day the girl has won for “Best Little Mermaid.” And though it may be over, next year it’ll happen all over again, and she has her trophy until then to remember.
For those of you who have first-hand experience with The Mermaid Parade, just let me say that there are no naked breasts in this book. Not so much as a drop of nip slippage. In fact, you could hardly come up with a more wholesome story of grown adults putting on shiny sequins and pretending to be the denizens of underwater lands. And for a moment I was a little sad when it looked as if there weren’t any men in skirts, but a closer inspection cheered me entirely as I found them. Greenberg has also included many of her fellow participants in this book, which is fun. Her style utilizes gouache, pen and pencil to create simple characters with distinctive personalities. Some might miss the presence of grime and sleaze, but this book is very much from a child’s perspective. And kids, by and large, notice shiny costumes before all else.
From a non-fiction standpoint the homework for this book covered several different areas. For example, there’s a pretty cool two-page spread that provides a map of the Coney Island area, detailing the parade route and all that it encompasses. Astroland, the Wonder Wheel, Nathan’s, the parachute drop, and even Keyspan Park are included (though I fear the Go Kart area has been one of the first areas of the park to go now that the area’s being “renovated”). Back matter includes information on “How to make a mermaid tale in 3 easy steps”. She isn’t kidding about the easy part either. The pattern and instructions are simple enough for even craft-challenged adults like myself to be able to whip up one of these puppies on the sly. If you’ve a storytime or a birthday party with a mermaid theme on the horizon, this book may be the friend you never knew you had. An Author’s Note offers historical information on the parade, going back long before its official inception in 1983. I also appreciated the time taken in the book to record the traditions of the parade, like cutting the ribbons that symbolize Autumn, Winter, Spring, and Summer and then tossing fruit into the waves.
As I sit at the reference desk at my library, there are moments when children inundate me with requests for mermaid picture books. I’ll pull out the usual [b: Princess Fishtail|1291912|Princess Fishtail|Frances Minters|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1309213612l/1291912._SX50_.jpg|1281004] and [b: Sukey and the Mermaid|1110093|Sukey and the Mermaid|Robert D. San Souci|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347520259l/1110093._SX50_.jpg|886283], nine times out of ten. But if I judge the kid to be a little open in their choices, I might try to talk up a book where a girl goes to a real life parade here in New York where EVERYBODY dresses like a mermaid. The notion has appeal. Of course, I’ve the advantage that I’m a librarian in New York City, but no matter where you go, mermaids are pretty cool. And having a book that celebrates not just them but also people who dance to the beat of a different drum is well worth reading. Fun, eye-catching, and original. A parade picture book like none written before.
Ages 4-8
A young girl puts on a mermaid costume, but not just for the fun of playing dress-up. The summer solstice is nigh and it’s time for the yearly Mermaid Parade at Coney Island. This year the girl will be participating with her mom and dad and they’ve come up with the perfect outfit to wow the judges. Joining them are crowds of other participants and everyone gets a number. Then, as people dressed as King Neptune and Queen Mermaid lead on, everyone marches down the boardwalk and around the streets for all the happy onlookers. The route ends at the sandy shore, but that’s not all there is to it. The Costume Judges look everyone over carefully and by the end of the day the girl has won for “Best Little Mermaid.” And though it may be over, next year it’ll happen all over again, and she has her trophy until then to remember.
For those of you who have first-hand experience with The Mermaid Parade, just let me say that there are no naked breasts in this book. Not so much as a drop of nip slippage. In fact, you could hardly come up with a more wholesome story of grown adults putting on shiny sequins and pretending to be the denizens of underwater lands. And for a moment I was a little sad when it looked as if there weren’t any men in skirts, but a closer inspection cheered me entirely as I found them. Greenberg has also included many of her fellow participants in this book, which is fun. Her style utilizes gouache, pen and pencil to create simple characters with distinctive personalities. Some might miss the presence of grime and sleaze, but this book is very much from a child’s perspective. And kids, by and large, notice shiny costumes before all else.
From a non-fiction standpoint the homework for this book covered several different areas. For example, there’s a pretty cool two-page spread that provides a map of the Coney Island area, detailing the parade route and all that it encompasses. Astroland, the Wonder Wheel, Nathan’s, the parachute drop, and even Keyspan Park are included (though I fear the Go Kart area has been one of the first areas of the park to go now that the area’s being “renovated”). Back matter includes information on “How to make a mermaid tale in 3 easy steps”. She isn’t kidding about the easy part either. The pattern and instructions are simple enough for even craft-challenged adults like myself to be able to whip up one of these puppies on the sly. If you’ve a storytime or a birthday party with a mermaid theme on the horizon, this book may be the friend you never knew you had. An Author’s Note offers historical information on the parade, going back long before its official inception in 1983. I also appreciated the time taken in the book to record the traditions of the parade, like cutting the ribbons that symbolize Autumn, Winter, Spring, and Summer and then tossing fruit into the waves.
As I sit at the reference desk at my library, there are moments when children inundate me with requests for mermaid picture books. I’ll pull out the usual [b: Princess Fishtail|1291912|Princess Fishtail|Frances Minters|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1309213612l/1291912._SX50_.jpg|1281004] and [b: Sukey and the Mermaid|1110093|Sukey and the Mermaid|Robert D. San Souci|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347520259l/1110093._SX50_.jpg|886283], nine times out of ten. But if I judge the kid to be a little open in their choices, I might try to talk up a book where a girl goes to a real life parade here in New York where EVERYBODY dresses like a mermaid. The notion has appeal. Of course, I’ve the advantage that I’m a librarian in New York City, but no matter where you go, mermaids are pretty cool. And having a book that celebrates not just them but also people who dance to the beat of a different drum is well worth reading. Fun, eye-catching, and original. A parade picture book like none written before.
Ages 4-8
Today is the 32nd Annual Mermaid Parade in Coney Island. Now, we have a lot of parades here in New York City, probably one every weekend somewhere. But this is one of my favorites. It is one of those funky parades I used to go to every year with my Kiddo. No matter what the weather, we would watch all the different mermaid, King Nepturne and all kinds of sea creature incarnations than walk on down Surf Aveneu to Nathan's Famous for our annual hot dog and french fries, followed by ice cream on the boardwalk (if it's Coney Island, then it must be pistachio for me).
So, you can imagine how pleased I was when I discovered Melanie Greenberg's picture book Mermaids on Parade. In her story, a young girl narrates the day as she gets ready to participate in the parade as a mermaid, along with her mermaid mom and pirate dad, Greenberg has captured all the fun of this parade, right down to the screech of the subway train's wheels as it pulls into the station, depositing more onlookers with each train.
And there are rituals that are involved in this parade, our narrator tells us. Cutting the four ribbons along the way - one for each season until finally cutting the summer ribbon to open the ocean. Once the ocean is open,she says that fruit is tossed into the sea to guarantee a good summer of swimming. But at the end of the day, will our narrator take home a winning trophy for her mermaid costume and seashell wagon?
I love this book, it brings back so many wonderful memories. Not only did Greenberg write the story, but she also did the illustrations. Her bright, whimsical illustrations done in gouache, pen and pencil are done in a palatte of summery colors and only add to the enjoyment of the story. One of my favorite illustrations is a bird's eye view of Coney Island complete with sand, surf, amusement park, Wonder Wheel, the Cyclone (still considered by many to be the best wooden roller coaster around) and of course, Nathan's Famous.
Even if you are not a New Yorker, and never get to see the real parade, this is a fun book to share with your young readers. In fact, it may be a better Mermaid Parade that the real thing, which lately can get a bit too real at times. And as an added bonus, there are even really simple instructions for making your own mermaid tail at the back of the book.
I bought a copy of Mermaids on Parade for my Kiddo even though she is no longer a child. I am putting together a collection of picture books of experiences that we shared when she was growing up and that I think she might like to share with her own Kiddos when she has them.
If your young reader loves summer and summertime rituals as much as my Kiddo does, than Mermaids on Parade just may be the book to read this summer.
This book is recommended for readers age 4+
This book was purchased for my Kiddo's personal library
This review was originally posted at Randomly Reading
So, you can imagine how pleased I was when I discovered Melanie Greenberg's picture book Mermaids on Parade. In her story, a young girl narrates the day as she gets ready to participate in the parade as a mermaid, along with her mermaid mom and pirate dad, Greenberg has captured all the fun of this parade, right down to the screech of the subway train's wheels as it pulls into the station, depositing more onlookers with each train.
And there are rituals that are involved in this parade, our narrator tells us. Cutting the four ribbons along the way - one for each season until finally cutting the summer ribbon to open the ocean. Once the ocean is open,she says that fruit is tossed into the sea to guarantee a good summer of swimming. But at the end of the day, will our narrator take home a winning trophy for her mermaid costume and seashell wagon?
I love this book, it brings back so many wonderful memories. Not only did Greenberg write the story, but she also did the illustrations. Her bright, whimsical illustrations done in gouache, pen and pencil are done in a palatte of summery colors and only add to the enjoyment of the story. One of my favorite illustrations is a bird's eye view of Coney Island complete with sand, surf, amusement park, Wonder Wheel, the Cyclone (still considered by many to be the best wooden roller coaster around) and of course, Nathan's Famous.
Even if you are not a New Yorker, and never get to see the real parade, this is a fun book to share with your young readers. In fact, it may be a better Mermaid Parade that the real thing, which lately can get a bit too real at times. And as an added bonus, there are even really simple instructions for making your own mermaid tail at the back of the book.
I bought a copy of Mermaids on Parade for my Kiddo even though she is no longer a child. I am putting together a collection of picture books of experiences that we shared when she was growing up and that I think she might like to share with her own Kiddos when she has them.
If your young reader loves summer and summertime rituals as much as my Kiddo does, than Mermaids on Parade just may be the book to read this summer.
This book is recommended for readers age 4+
This book was purchased for my Kiddo's personal library
This review was originally posted at Randomly Reading