The Mermaid With No Tail - A Children's Book Review

What is The Mermaid With No Tail?

The Mermaid With No Tail was written by paralympic gold medalist Jessica Long, illustrated by Airin O’Callaghan, and published by St. Martin’s Essentials / Sounds True. It was published on September 26, 2023. 

Inspired by Jessica Long, this insightful book described the challenges a young mermaid with no tail fins faced and, importantly, overcame. In the book the protagonist was adopted by turtles and fell in love with swimming. Her goal was to win the largest mermaid race, but no one thought she could do it because of her disability. Despite this, she hired a shark who put her to work, teaching her to value her strengths and look at what she does have, not what she doesn’t. This young mermaid went on to win the race, her parents and coach watching with pride.

Review

The Mermaid With No Tail sends a beautiful message to disabled children and adults alike. It speaks to the strength disabled people have, the challenges of stigma, and the choice to overcome what people believe about disabled individuals to succeed beyond what has been thought to be possible.

There are many parts of this book that I love. To name possibly my favorite aspect, I am truly inspired by the strength-based representation of disability in this book. The protagonist is told to look at her strengths, in this case her arms, and use them to empower her. I believe this sends a strong message about disabled people being strong, whether that is physically, mentally, intellectually, emotionally, or all of the above. In fact, The Mermaid With No Tail alludes to the young mermaid’s strength being even greater than her able-bodied peers, showing that disabled people can surpass expectations and stigmas, and do the same exact activities that able-bodied individuals can.

Another part of the book that I enjoyed is the loving parents. In The Mermaid With No Tail, the young mermaid is raised by supportive turtles. This brings up two thoughts for me: 1. The acceptance and encouragement of the child’s disability is very important, and 2. The mermaid is fortunate to have a loving family, and may not have succeeded in the same ways without this family.

Now, why do I say that the mermaid is lucky to have a loving family and might not have succeeded in the same ways without this support? My reasoning is that every child needs love and disabled children often have barriers in getting the support they need. In the real world families may not have the funds to support the child’s medical needs, the school system might not be able to support that child’s needs, or they may not get the same chances at education. This raises an important point about how future educators such as myself can support disabled children in every setting.

Diverse children’s literature can represent children of all types. Although strength-based disabled representation is rare in children’s books, we as future and current educators, parents, and caregivers have a responsibility to help all children feel seen. Whether they have no legs, they are a person of color, a child in a 2SLGBTQIA+ family, or another minority, they deserve love, respect, and compassion. EduAndYou seeks to provide this through resources, book reviews, newsletters, and more, inspiring young and old minds alike to be compassionate and inclusive souls.

After all, disabled people are everywhere. They are our friends, our family members, our peers, our children, our coworkers, etc… We may not always see their disability like we see the missing tail, but we have a duty as a society to respect these individuals, empower them, and treat them the same as we would treat anyone else.

So, let me ask you this, what is the future of your classroom, house, or childcare setting going to be like? Would you put this book on your shelf? What is stopping you from being as inclusive as possible towards disabled children? If you were a disabled child wouldn’t you want to know you were just as strong as your friends?

Together we can foster a kind and inclusive environment where all children can thrive. It starts here at EduAndYou. It starts one diverse children’s book at a time.