Customer Reviews

Mermaids on Parade

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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. Topless women 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 Princess Fishtail and Sukey and the Mermaid (Aladdin Picture Books), 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.

We bought this book yesterday and have read it about 15 times since. My girls are crazy about it! We are now making big plans to go to the parade in Brooklyn!

I truely enjoyed this colorful story set in Coney Island, NYC for the annual Mermaid Parade. The illustrations are lush with a diversity of characters from land and sea. How to make a mermaid tail instructions too. I'm proud to know this author/illustrator and to be captured as King Neptune in this charming children's book.
Cheers! Herb Hernandez

Inspired by her childhood experiences, Melanie uses simple prose to tell the story of the Mermaid Parade, a special Coney Island celebration honoring the summer solstice. At its core, the story is about a girl who "comes out of her shell." But coupled with the illustrations, the story becomes so much more.

To illustrate her story, Melanie uses gouache, pen and pencil. Her attention to detail is exquisitely profound. Her simple characterizations remind me of the familiar folk tradition, that is, a form that offers an artistic window into a tradition and elevates it to an inspired commemoration. Each character is a distinct personality. Her colors are bright and bold. The costumes sparkle right off the page. Surely you can hear the music playing! Can't you just smell those Coney Island hotdogs!

Other elements of the Coney Island festival jump off the page: the colorful buildings. Astroland the roller coaster. Dancing on the boardwalk. The map that shows the parade route fits right in.

As a special treat, Melanie gives directions on how to create your own mermaid tail. The author's note offers the history of parade. This book makes a wonderful edition for any library, both a child's library and your local library!