Wednesday, 13 June 2018

Be A Mermaid and Be A Llama by Sarah Ford and Anita Mangan (Non-Fiction, Inspirational, 10E/10E)


 March 2018, Spruce, 96 pages, Paperback, Review copy 

Summary from Spruce Publishing
A little book that packs a big punch, with motivational sayings and colourful, characterful drawings of the sea-queen herself.
 
Mermaid is happy in her own fins. She is fiercely independent and is just as happy taking herself out for dinner as she is on a night out with the squad. Never one to bow out early, she confronts every challenge head on and isn't afraid to get her hands dirty (though her tail will always be sparkling clean). So let Mermaid guide you through the trials and tribulations of real girl power and you can be sure she'll always have your back.

Stressed? Let Llama show you how to find calm amidst the chaos.

Sweet natured, sociable, and blessed with great hair, Llama is taking on the world... she is doing it one step at a time and staying really, really chilled. Take a leaf out of Llama's book and seek out the calm amidst the chaos.

From llama weddings to therapy llamas, these are the animals of tomorrow. Or the day after. No rush.

Nayu's thoughts
 I've got several what I term life inspiring books like these so was eager to see what gems of wisdom they hold. The mermaid one is shortly swimming it's way (intended pun, not literal as it is flying there) to a family member all the way in Australia who is mermaid obsessed (and a guy! Guys love mermaids as much as girls). 

They are deceptively simple reads that take much longer to read despite being a sentence a page-I took time to take in the meaning of what gets said and see how it applies to my life. Both the mermaids and the llamas have great ways of looking at the world and coping with the craziness of life. The illustrations added a lot of humour and while not 100% my favourite style I loved seeing what wild colour and style of hair the mermaids had, and how calm the llama looked despite life being crazy. 

These are definitely books to be reread periodically, supporting you when taking positive actions that may be daunting, reminders of what life is about, and pocket sized so you can easily slip them into your bag and take it with you wherever you go. A favourite part was when mermaid ate dessert for dinner- without fail every year I have fresh chilled custard and some ice cream for breakfast on my birthday (albeit a bit later in the day this year)! 

Suggested read 
I haven't reviewed this book, but I recommend any of your favourite characters who may have a small book of wisdom, like this lovable almost always gloomy donkey: Eeyore's Little Book of Gloom 
 


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