Ammi-Joan Paquette - The Tiptoe Guide to Tracking Mermaids

Published by Tanglewood Publishing, Inc., April 2012
Text 2012 Ammi-Joan Paquette
Illustrations 2012 Marie Letourneau All rights reserved. Neither this book nor any part may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, microfilming, and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Design by Amy Alick Perich Tanglewood Publishing, Inc.
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www.tanglewoodbooks.com 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Paquette, Ammi-Joan. The tiptoe guide to tracking mermaids / by Ammi-Joan Paquette ; illustrated by Marie Letourneau. p. cm.

Summary: While following instructions for spotting mermaids, the reader is introduced to a variety of marine life found along the seashore. ISBN-13: 978-1-933718-71-2 [1. Marine animals--Fiction. 2. Seashore--Fiction. 3.

Mermaids--Fiction.] I. Le Tourneau, Marie, ill. II. Title. PZ7.P2119Tg 2012 [E]--dc23 2011040976 For Peggy, who believed. -ML

But there are other daysmagical oneswhen the beach is empty. Whoosh! The wind tosses up the sand in curling eddies. Kazoom! The waves cymbal-crash against the shore. Yes! Days like these are just right for tracking mermaids. This quiet seashore is the perfect place to start. Weve found a perfect pink conch shell.

Listen carefully.... Does it have any secrets to tell us? Mermaids live out in the ocean, but they like to come ashore to play. There are no mermaids here today. But... we can leave them a surprise for when they come back! Where to next? Oh! Just ahead... where the rocks jut out into the sea like a long, craggy finger.

This tide pool is just the kind of place where baby mermaids love to splash on a hot day. I wonder if they ever come here? Is this a treasure box? Or a mermaids secret collection of jewels ? With an abalone shell mirror and a cowrie comb, a mermaid can primp and style herself so she is ready for any occasion. This shell has a tiny hole at the top. With the fine strand of a spiders web, a mermaid can string herself a necklace that will glow like sunset. This sand dollar is smooth and shiny. Lets see how many more we can collect.

Maybe this will tempt the mermaids out of hiding. I wonder what treasures the sand dollars might buy at the market? Mermaids love to eat. Some of their favorite treats grow along the seashore: tender sea lettuce and sugar kelp. Well leave a handful of Queen Annes lace petals for them to sprinkle on top as a garnish. Look at all these friendly crabs skittering around! They must be the clean-up crew. They seem to enjoy munching on the mermaids leftovers.

Mmmm! When mealtime is over, mermaids like to take a relaxing underwater nap. In a hammock of woven weeds, they curl up and sleep for hours. Tiny minnows play peek-a-boo in their long hair, and nibble every last bit of algae from their glittering scales. Those mermaids sleep the afternoon away, waiting until the cool of evening before popping up for some more dolphin-chasing , wave-hopping, water-splashing fun. Can you see any mermaids anywhere? We look high. We look low.

Where could those mermaids be hiding? What else do mermaids love? Hide-and-seek in the coral reefs. Tag with their seahorse buddies. Undersea acrobatics to the thrumming beat of the ocean surf. Mermaids do love all of these things, but our day is nearly over and we have not found a single one. We cantwe shouldntwe wont give up! And... wait! What is that all the way over there? Is that something glistening ?