I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I think kids will be drawn to the bright, colorful pictures. The story is cute and flows well.

This is a relatively simple story, that is very realistic today. Maya has to use her imagination and dreams because being an only child with busy parents, she is often alone. With the wonderful, colourful illustrations in this book, the listener (in this case my three year old granddaughter) can travel under the sea with mermaid Maya and see many sea creatures as well as discover that it can be easier than you think to make a new friend. My granddaughter loved the illustrations in this book and kept asking me what everything was. I had trouble turning the pages and she kept wanting to go back. I think my older grandchild would have enjoyed the story aspect, for her it was the illustrations.

Mermaid Dreams by Kate Pugsley

Published by Penguin Random House/Tundra Publishing April 30, 2019

Genre: Children’s Fiction

Pages: 17

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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Story Notes

Kate Pugsley presents a children’s story that merges imagination and reality in a way that is very reminiscent of a child’s perception of life.

Children’s book authors are as varied as children themselves and its always fun to read a book from a child’s perspective. I enjoyed this short book with its simplistic illustrations and cute story. Not everything was exactly like reality but since children see things differently I liked the changing/different shapes of people and objects shown. Maya is a young girl who is rather shy. She is visiting the beach with her family and her parents encourage her to play with the other children on the beach. But for the moment Maya chooses to drift into her imagination where she becomes a mermaid under the water. As she seeks out the mysterious laughter/voice she hears, Maya discovers new sea animals and even a new friend. As she comes back to reality, Maya meets another young girl named Pearl(who looks very much like her mermaid friend) who invites to her play. They quickly find that they both love mermaids and head off to play. This story is very much like life for younger children, especially those who are an only child, that might have trouble engaging with other children. But it encourages children to be brave in making friends and not be afraid to use their imagination. Parents will like this book as its not boring and will give them a chance to talk to their kids about being shy and finding a way to be brave. I will certainly recommend this book to others as it’s a cute story with nothing questionable in it.

I received this E-book free of charge from Penguin Random House/Tundra Publishing in exchange for a fair and honest review. I will receive no fiscal compensation from either company for this review and the opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.

Debut picture book authorstrator Kate Pugsley brings us the quintessential summer time picture book, Mermaid Dreams. The perfect vacation read for your little one all about heading to the beach and making new friends.

Maya is on vacation with her parents. When they get to the beach, her parents just want to relax but Maya wants to play. In her imagination she dives underwater and becomes a mermaid on a hunt for a voice she can hear calling to her. Luckily she finds another mermaid and they have fun together, until she wakes up that is. When she wake up Pearl tags her it and they run off, fast friends, pretending to be mermaids together.

Mermaid Dreams is such a lovely story for all the little mermaids in your life. You will want to read it over and over, just to see all of the interesting sea creatures within. Maya bumps into a fish, an octopus, some seahorses and a whole host of other sea life. It’s so much fun to use your imagination, it can take us anywhere and this book is a lovely reminder to young readers to take some time for quiet and let your imagination guide you. You may discover new friends and new places if you just take the time to be quiet and be still

Mermaid Dreams is an adorable, charming story about imagination and friendship. Kate Pugsley's illustrations are bright and happy; their sweet simplicity make the story perfect for young readers and their infectious joy will put a smile on anyone's face. This is obviously an ideal book for mermaid fans, but with its focus on creativity and making new friends, Mermaid Dreams is a great book for any child.

My thanks to Tundra Books and NetGalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Maya is on a day at the beach. She is a little shy, but has a great dream of being a mermaid, that makes it easier for her to make friends. The story is typical, and nice, the illustrations okay, but not spectacular. This will check out nicely at any library, but will not be an award winner.

This simple friendship book will appeal to mermaid-loving children. The art is deceptively simple and the message is clear.

An adorable story with great art. A couple years ago I lamented that there weren't enough picture books about mermaids to satisfy all the requests. This picture book would be a great addition to any library collection. It would also make a great read-a-loud for storytimes. There are points for children to guess what will happen next, and to name animals. I love the message about imaginative play and finding "your person."

This story was an absolute delight. It was very timely as well, as my daughter is going through a mermaid phase at the moment. It tells the story of Maya, and her beach adventure during a day at shore with her parents. This book is beautifully illustrated, and that was one of my daughter's favourite things about it. She really enjoyed the illustrations, especially the underwater scenes. The story also gets into the psyche of a child, and how being shy might cause them to miss out on exciting experiences.

Kate Pugsley's Mermaid Dreams (2019) is a sweet story about a young girl, Maya, who visits the beach with her family. When she asks her parents to play, they tell her they would like to relax instead and suggest she make a new friend. That's easier said than done. Maya is too shy to approach one of the playing children. Instead she closes her eyes and imagines herself transformed into a mermaid and swimming freely under the ocean's waves. In her fantasy, Maya meets many sea creatures as she follows inviting laughter that ends up belonging to a little mermaid just like her. Maya awakes from her fantasy when a child invites her to play in real life. She accepts with confidence. [Read more…]

The text expertly blurs the line between fantasy and reality through cheerful illustrations and thoughtful text. I love the diverse skin-tones and body types that permeate the pages. Warm and whimsical, Mermaid Dreams subtly and kindly explores childhood shyness and overcoming the challenge of making friends to be rewarded with fun in the sun!

Kate Pugsley's Mermaid Dreams will be available April 30th! Just in time to purchase for beach reading.

Mermaid Dreams was just not a good match for me. The story isn't terribly thrilling, nor is it amusing; it's just kind of there. I didn't really get the point. I think I might like this a lot more as a wordless picture book.

The illustrations are hit and miss for me. I love some of the scenes with aquatic life, but I do not care for the style used for the people. I think most of the illustrations will be appealing to little ones, though, as the colour palette is quite vibrant.

2.5 stars rounded up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tundra Books for providing me with a DRC of this book.

The cute tale of a girl that longs for adventure, but must find it in different ways. Mermaid Dreams enforces the use of imagination, then promotes friendliness. Even when you’re shy, you can be a fun and adventurous friend to others!

Love the pictures of this book, I really love that the mermaids are realistic for little girls (rather than unrealisticly thin). The story is adorable, a cute unique mermaid tale!

This book didn't start off too well for me, with the off-putting behaviour of the parents making me pretty angry. As soon as the family gets to the beach, Maya wants to play. But her parents tell her no, because they just want to relax with a beer and a book. Then they basically pawn her off on the beach population in general, telling her to go play. Safety concerns aside, I felt really sorry for the kid. Anyway, she's too shy to say hello to the other kids, so she just lies down on her turtle floaty in the blazing sun and falls asleep. (The parents are safely under their beach umbrella, and there was no mention of sunscreen or a hat for the kid. I bet she returns from every day at the beach with a horrible sunburn.)

The dream is juvenile and the unappealing illustrations don't help. Maya basically turns into a mermaid and encounters various sea creatures, all while searching for the owner of a giggling voice. Of course, it turns out to be another little-girl mermaid. When she eventually wakes up, she plays with Pearl (the little girl who's the owner of the voice she heard in the dream) while her parents continue to ignore their young child on a beach that appears to have no lifeguard.

I just didn't enjoy this one. The appeal is likely supposed to be the mermaid angle... but there are better mermaid-themed books out there.