Is It A Mermaid?

When Benjie and Bel find a strange creature on a tropical beach they know it’s a dugong. But the dugong insists she is a beautiful mermaid and to prove it, she shows them her mermaid’s tail and sings them a mermaid song. The children aren’t convinced but they play with their new friend all the same. When it’s time for her to go back to sea, there is one surprise left – could she be a mermaid after all? (Source)

Author: Candy Gourlay

Illustrator: Francesca Chessa

Author Candy Gourlay grew up in the Philippines wondering why all the books she ever loved only featured pink-skinned children who lived in snow-covered worlds that didn’t resemble her steamy, tropical home in Manila. As a result, it took her years to fulfil her dream of becoming an author and years to learn that Filipino stories, too, belong in the pages of books. Candy’s novels for young readers, Tall Story and Shine, have been published to acclaim and listed for many prizes such as the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Children’s Book Prize. She lives in London with her family, where she wages war on the snails in her garden.

Illustrator Francesca Chessa was born in a small north Italian town close to Turin. She graduated in Architecture but, after some years of working as an architect, realized that she would rather paint animals, landscapes, and children from all over the world. Hence she did a course in Illustration. Since 1997, Francesca has illustrated more than forty children’s books working with publishers in various parts of the world. She has received mentions and prizes in a number of international competitions.

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