Set in the Canadian Prairies, ‘I am a Meadow Mermaid’ by Kallie George is a heartwarming picture book, a story filled with imagination and two friends bonding over a game of make-believe. It is perfect for children between the ages of 3 and 5. The writing is minimal and approachable while also captivating.

As someone who also spent most of my childhood pretending to be a mermaid, I’m sure this will be a huge hit for imaginative children! The illustrations were also gorgeous, and I highly recommend this one!

A beautiful, lyrical book about imagination and friendship. This story, set in the Canadian prairies, features a little girl who imagines she is a mermaid among the waves of grain. Eventually she discovers a friend, and they set off on sea-themed adventures together. The words to the story are lovely and lyrical. The art is absolutely gorgeous and painterly.

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

I loved this book. The colors in the pictures were beautiful. The illustrations were very appealing. The story was good and think that kids will like it. A different kind of mermaid story.

In her prairie home, one little girl imagines herself as a mermaid—a meadow mermaid, in a sea of grass. Of course there’s only one thing she needs—a friend to imagine along with her. This was a lovely little story about friendship and imagination, and I look forward to cuddling up with my little girls to read a hard copy with them someday soon!

This cute, creative picture book features a young girl who lives on the prairie and likes to pretend that she is a mermaid. Instead of longing for the ocean, she relates her environment to the things she imagines, and she eventually makes a new friend to play with. This story is light on substance, but the illustrations are lovely, and it's nice to see a picture book about a rural environment that isn't about farming or farm animals.

The cover of this delightful book drew me in immediately. At first glance, you think she is sitting, in a meadow, "sort of" looking like a mermaid. She lives on a landlocked farm. Having gone from the west coast, where I'd never even thought about children not having a beach or ocean, and now in Colorado (hence: landlocked) this book would be such a fun addition to a child's bookshelf. It's descriptive and the art is beautiful. I adored the book. Despite receiving an e-ARC, I will be purchasing this to have on hand when I need it for a niece or any other little visitor. Thank you Penguin Random House Canada, NetGalley, and the author, for the advance of this book. All opinions are my own.

I Am a Meadow Mermaid
4 Stars

I Am a Meadow Mermaid takes us on a fun and imaginative adventure around a little girl's landlocked farm. I love the highly whimsical nature of the story and our main character's huge imagination. I couldn't help but enjoy the lovely descriptive language with the adorable art style. Whether she was comparing a field of wheat to the ocean's waves, or seeing starfish in the sky at night; it's done so well. I like the warm color palette, and the muted tones. Great bedtime read!

Overall, this is a pretty good book. The illustrations are gorgeous! The lyrical writing is great, and both together only enhance one another. I think this is a fantastic choice for children living in rural areas. Thank you, NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada, for the advance reading copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was a book about a farm girl with a huge imagination who thought of herself as a mermaid on an ocean adventure. It used great descriptions of her fanciful ideas even though she lived on a farm.

I Am a Meadow Mermaid takes us through the eyes of a girl who lives on a farm and imagines she's a mermaid. She has an amazing imagination that can foster creativity in any child. The book would be especially perfect for those families that live in rural areas. The illustrations are absolutely beautiful, and the lyrical writing followed the whimsical nature of the illustrations perfectly.

A gorgeous and very short picture book, I Am A Meadow Mermaid takes us through a little girl’s one day adventure on the prairie. As a farm girl myself, this one was sweet and hit home, playing in the rolling hills and searching the country stars unpolluted by city lights was a delight of my own youth.

I will absolutely be purchasing this once it’s out for my nieces! Stunning and cozy illustrations with lush lyrical writing, I Am a Meadow Mermaid is a perfect bedtime read for children.

I received an ARC of “I Am a Meadow Mermaid” from NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada in exchange for an honest review. When I saw the cover of this book, I knew that I had to read it because, like the main character in this picture book, I also live on a farm.

Although we don’t grow wheat on our farm, I could see so much of my family in this book. The author, Kallie George, did a beautiful job of writing this imaginative book about a little farm girl who sees the ocean all around her. But although the text was very good, it would not have been complete without the illustrations of Elly MacKay.

The illustrator included pictures of farm life that one doesn’t always see: guineas, chickens, and other farm animals; barns and hay bales; and quilts (YES!) and muck boots. One line of text accompanied with illustrations talks about how the girl hears the ocean, using a teacup lifted to her ear. When I was growing up, my mother had a conch shell, and I would lift it to my ear to hear the ocean sounds. Every. Single. Day.

What I really love about this picture book is the focus on rural life. In the United States, most kids live in cities, so it’s only natural that most children’s books focus primarily on urban children. So to have a book about a kid living on a farm is spectacular. But even though the MC is rural, like other children her age, she dreams and uses her imagination.

This book, I believe, is going to be popular with a lot of rural kids, and especially, I think, with rural parents. Many kids living in the country will, for the first time, be able to see themselves in this book. I can see a lot of librarians in small, rural counties ordering this book for the local kids. And I hope they do!

A very cute and fun story about a little girl who imagines her landlocked world to be an new kind of ocean where she can be a new kind of mermaid and meet a new kind of pirate. I loved the art and it adds to the whimsical nature of the story.

The way she describes the fields reminds me of reading Sarah, Plain and Tall as a kid, where Sarah talks about the fields looking like the waves of the ocean.

Thank you to NetGalley for making this available in exchange for an honest review!

The wonders of imagination triumphs over the mundane and everyday in this beautifully illustrated picture book. Two young girls dream that the ocean lives in the meadow and they can be whatever they want to be.

I Am A Meadow Mermaid is for every child who grew up landlocked and dreaming of being a mermaid. It features a young girl who sees the ocean in farmland and befriends another child. The illustrations are gorgeous watercolor, really accentuating the browns and yellow tones of the meadow.

Note: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated in any other fashion for the review and the opinions reflected below are entirely my own. Special thanks to the publisher and author for providing the copy.

The artwork in this book is absolutely stunning. It reminds me a lot of books by George Ella Lyon. I love that the meadow mermaid makes a friend. It did feel at sometimes like the book was a little disconnected but I love the use of imagination by the children in the books.

I was a little girl with a big imagination who grew up on the prairies, and this book made me a little teary-eyed with nostalgia. The illustrations are gorgeous, and romanticize prairie life in such a wholesome and whimsical way. This book made me miss home, and made me grateful to have been a meadow mermaid myself. What a unique picture book. I am so happy I had the chance to read it!

An imaginative young girl gets lost in her imagination in this whimsical, colorful tale of the extraordinary in the ordinary. The illustrations were lovely, very soft and gentle and whimsical. The writing wasn't my favorite. I know it's supposed to be fanciful, but some of the text was just nonsense. My kids didn't love it either.

Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada and NetGalley for providing an advance reader copy for me to review!

I'd like to pick up a physical copy at the library when this is released, as the Kindle version had some formatting issues, plus my screen was small so it was hard to properly see the pictures. Beautiful illustrations though, from what I could tell! I wasn't a huge fan of the verses, but still a lovely picture book.

What a beautiful story, and gorgeous illustrations!

Love that there is a little cute moment with meeting a new friend.
I think this is a simple yet complex, easy to read story about how important our dreams and imagination are and also the importance of knowing ourself!

I could relate to this book because I grew up in the prairies but always yearned to live by the ocean or the sea. Now I do!

Thankyou to Netgalley, Author Kallie George and Penguin Random House Publishing fir the opportunity to read this lovely book!

Elly MacKay's illustrations are peaceful, beautiful, and soft, they inspire a sense of wonder to this story. It would make a great gift for any lovers of imagination!