The Horn Book Guide

YOUNGER FICTION

Karr, Kathleen Schmidt, Karen Lee, Illustrator

The Lighthouse Mermaid

57 pp. | Hyperion | January, 1998 | Library ISBN 0-7868-2297-X | Paper ISBN 0-7868-1232-X

(4) K-3 Kate bravely maintains the lighthouse through weeks of storms, while Papa goes for food. Written with a sense of a young girl's longing for privacy, for grown-up responsibility, and for fairy-tale romance, the text moves quickly through several dramatic (and sometimes contrived) adventures--including rescuing what seems to be a real mermaid and her baby--with pencil illustrations adding liveliness. A note about lighthouses is appended.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.