The Flight of the Mermaid

THE FLIGHT OF THE MERMAID with art by Bhajju Shyam  and text by Gita Wolf and Sirish Rao, and created by Tara Books, a worker-owned independent publisher based in Chennai, India.

This book combines the story-telling magic of Hans Christian Andersen with a most unusual and pleasing form of illustration done in the traditional style of the Gond Tribes. The result is amazing and will intrigue both older readers and their child listeners.  The worlds of sea, land, and air are interwoven. This classic story presents in metaphor several universal human dilemmas:  why is there often a high cost for going outside of cultural norms; how does one choose between two worlds or two cultures?  What is most important- love, obedience or independence?

Another theme presented through metaphor is the price one pays simply because one is different: social rejection, taunting, teasing, exclusion.  Children who are part of any minority, especially children who are refugees from another county, are often feared or disliked.  Refugee children have “lost their voice” if they don’t speak English.
A word about Tara Books from India – they are beautiful!   The feel of the paper, the detail of design, even the hand-stitched bindings create books almost as pleasing to look at as to read.   These books present English classics through a different set of eyes and offer us a delightful new perspective.