Teased by her classmates for loving mermaids, a girl is thrilled to meet a young mermaid at the shore. Calling herself an "underwater girl," the mer-child takes Mermaid as her name. Soon the two girls are enjoying conversations and adventures together. Mermaid teaches the "aboveground girl" to swim, and together they rescue a turtle caught in some plastic. The girl attaches a barrel of water to her bicycle and takes Mermaid for a ride. After a storm, the girl finds Mermaid tangled in a net and, with help from her classmates, sets her free. The story ends years later, when the two friends, now grown, introduce their babies to each other. Though there's a little narrative tension at the beginning and near the end, this is primarily an idyllic tale, told in well-measured prose that's both down-to-earth and imaginative. The story's setting is very pleasing, with plenty of white space surrounding the wide-spaced lines of text and the beautifully composed, subtly shaded watercolor illustrations. A gentle, captivating picture book for "aboveground" kids who dream of mermaids.

A young girl and mermaid become fast friends but are forced to part until adulthood in this gentle environmental tale.Lying on a dock and dreaming of mermaids, a black-haired, light-complexioned girl gently reaches out to the water below. When a water-toned mermaid actually appears, the two begin to spend their days together. From tea parties and swim lessons to freeing a sea turtle from plastic, the girls learn from each other, finding delight in their similarities and differences. But when pollution threatens Mermaid's life, the underwater girl realizes she must leave. With the hope of seeing Mermaid again, the girl and her classmates promise to care for the ocean. Delicate watercolors done in a pastel palette depict the joy in finding a kindred spirit. Heavily textured paper adds a sandy softness to the illustrations, and the vignette of the girl and mermaid swimming as reflections of each other is full of lyricism. Most charming is the honesty of the females' shapes, both as girls and as adults, as the two women reunite with their arms outstretched, full with their own little ones and love for one another.Full of little- (and big-) girl wonder and whimsy, this is a must for the mermaid-obsessed. (Picture book. 4-8)