Tallulah doesn’t look like the other young mermaids living in the ocean. Her tail is a dull gray. And when all the other mermaids go on a quest to find the special gemstones that make their tails sparkle with color, Tallulah doesn’t find her gemstone at all. When Turtle suggests that Tallulah searches the Great Lakes, she is eager to give it a try, even though the other sea creatures believe mermaids don’t belong in lakes. Tallulah explores the Great Lakes from north to south and east to west, until she finds a beautiful Petoskey stone and she realizes that she is finally exactly where she belongs.

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Reviews

 

“A group of young mermaids is given instruction on searching for a personal gemstone to enhance their tail colors and deign magical powers that allow them to assist mariners and create “enchanting melodies.” Platinum-haired Tallulah (her name is Native American for “leaping water”) lacks success until her companion Sea Turtle convinces her to move her quest from ocean to the Great Lakes. After exploring the many pleasures of these waters, they finally locate a Petoskey stone that transforms her tail and inspires her song as the Great Lakes Mermaid. Hartung’s cartoon watercolors of young mermaids and undersea flora and fauna will enchant preschoolers. The expected array of blues and greens brighten with the inclusion of corals in orange, pink, and purple. VERDICT: Ideal for fans of the Great Lakes region, the basic story could be appealing to a wider audience.”  – School Library Journal

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"This story has a really nice “be yourself” message. The illustrations in this story are beautifully detailed. The endpapers in Tallulah are illustrated with a map of the Great Lakes which helps children to visually see the geography in the story. Tallulah: Mermaid of the Great Lakes can offer children who live in the Great Lakes region in Canada or the United States with a great local connection. It’s also a lovely bedtime read for any child who has an interest in mermaids. Recommended." - Kaitlyn Vecchio, Children’s Librarian, Prince George Public Library in Prince George, BC