l to r: Nancy Deas and Mike Deas

Two young girls, Maren and Ula, visit their aunt by the seaside. They are bored and lonely, stuck indoors as they take care of the needs of their aunt, who seems confined to bed and whose refrain to them is “Don’t let the dog out!” The girls yearn to visit the beach. One day, after the grey shaggy dog escapes and chases the seagulls, the girls run off in pursuit. Finally down at the shore and splashing in the water that they’ve been longing for, Maren and Ula play in the seaweed and discover it has magic properties that transform their legs temporarily into mermaid tails. Their new legs-slash-tails allow them to swim deep underwater without needing air. Hoping that this wonderful experience can be shared to help cheer up their aunt, the girls weave the seaweed into a blanket and lay it across her body while she sleeps. In the morning, they find their aunt has her own seaweed legs and a new, happier attitude. 

In keeping with the story content, Mike Deas’s illustrations begin grey and gloomy and then bloom into bright greens and blues following the visit to the beach.

Illustration: Mike Deas.

Overall, the story has lots of charm and expressive prose; however, some important details are missing. For instance, why is the aunt bedridden – is it permanent? When we finally see her out of her bed, it’s only with her new seaweed legs. Also, is there a reason that the girls are visiting without an adult, since they don’t seem particularly close to this aunt and she’s clearly depressed? It’s not a great vibe for the kids to be there without someone to help explain the situation. Given that their aunt used to make seaweed picture frames, did she already know about the water’s magic, but stopped using it at some point? While adult readers may wish for answers to these questions, children will likely enjoy the extraordinary story and appealing illustrations, and be unbothered by the internal logic of this world.