Kate PugsleyCritiques

Disclaimer: A copy was provided for this review by the publisher.

This is a simple, yet sweet, story of a girl who wants to make friends, but doesn't know how. I can totally relate to her parents, who are just so tired and are encouraging her to find other kids to play with and enjoy the beach.

The story is simple and relatable: a shy girl lets her imagination fly and in the process makes a friend. I really enjoyed the colorful illustrations and especially the girl's mermaid tail on the cover -- it is textured! I wasn't particularly fond of how the narrator described the underwater animals that Maya (the girl) encounters. A fish is described as dull, for example, but the story doesn't show why it is dull. I do appreciate that Maya is a brown girl, a brown mermaid. It is a wonderful representation for many girls of color who don't often get to see themselves as mermaids.

A very sweet book about imagination, shyness, and making new friends. Sweet, simple illustrations. It's an interesting middle ground age-wise, since the dreaming isn't explicit and the friendship at the end is more implied than actually described, so it's a little too old for my almost-3yo and a little too young for my almost-6yo, but we did enjoy it.

This fantasy, friendship picture book is written and illustrated by Kate Pugsley. Her simplified drawing style is not normally my cup of tea but I do find they are a good match for this story. A shy girl is not sure how to join into the fun at the beach and ends up falling asleep. She finds a friend in her dreams. The dream segues into real life and she finds a friend at the beach. A fantasy but simply told. My favorite pages of illustrations are actually the endpapers of the book, I can see a young child pouring over them.½

“Mermaid Dreams” has colorful illustrations that might appeal to children but I felt the story itself was stilted and choppy. I didn’t feel like the story was all that mermaidy and would hold a child’s attention, especially if you’re looking for a mermaid book (there isn’t a whole lot to do with mermaids in this one). I can’t recommend this book to parents. My niece didn’t even care for it when I gave it to her to read and she loves all things to do with mermaids and reading.

E’s review: She wasn’t very nice to the animals under the sea, and I just didn’t like the book.

I give this book 1 star.

I won this book from LibraryThing from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This delightful book designed for young children is nicely illustrated and has a great story. The main character does not know how to make friends. While at the beach, she falls asleep and dreams she is a mermaid with a new friend. When she wakes up, a little girl is asking if she wants to play with her! Dreams do come true.

Two of my granddaughters wear mermaid fins when they go swimming in my pool. One of them has a secret: when she grows up, she wants to be a mermaid.
Tundra Books made a mistake and sent me two packages, each containing a copy of Mermaid Dreams. And after reading the book myself, I sent a copy to both granddaughters because I knew they would enjoy reading it over and over again.

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

I found this to be an adorably sweet book. It's a very simple story about making friends, but the artwork is colorful and likely to appeal to a wide range of kids. (My almost-five-year old likes it). I don't know that there's a deep lesson here, but it's sweet and enjoyable and it's a fine book!

A sweet and gentle story, rather like a daydream in a of itself. There's not much of a story, but a dreamlike meandering to an underwater world in search of a friend. Pugsley's illustrations are colorful and inviting, and the overall effect is quite pleasant, if not knock-down fantastic.

This is a beautiful little book about the power of imagination and creativity. Young Maya is at the beach, too shy to play with others, when she falls asleep and dreams she is a mermaid. While in her Mermaid Dream, she discovers another mermaid who wants to play. When she wakes up, there is a real girl who wants to play.½

Maya goes to the beach with her parents, but is too shy to introduce herself to one of the many children playing in the sand. But then she discovers a place of mystery, and perhaps a friend as well?

Cute story, simple colorful pictures. This one heads for my granddaughter's bookshelves.

This book had a lot of promise. Its about imagination and making friends. Maya visits the beach with her parents, feels too shy to make friends, dreams of being a mermaid, and does, predictably, make a friend. However, this book just did not hit home for me. I felt like the parents were a little rude and the text of the book felt choppy. It would not make a good read-aloud.

On the good side, the illustrations are quite sweet. They also feature diverse children of various backgrounds, which in this day and age is important for children's picture books.

Thank you to LibraryThing Early Reviewers and Tundra Books for the review copy of this book.

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.