A soft, colorful palette and gorgeous watercolor and ink illustrations on brown paper realistically portray bodies of all different sizes in this touching story of an abuela’s love and acceptance of her gender-creative grandchild. Without a word, she takes Julián’s hand and leads him to the mermaid parade, where they join in the celebration. After a moment of apprehension, Julián’s relief is palpable when Abuela, dressed in blue, returns to present him with a beaded coral necklace. From the gauzy window curtain he fashions a tail and strikes a pose-only to be discovered by a towel-wrapped Abuela, who promptly walks away.
Once they’re home, while Abuela takes a bath Julián removes his clothing, tucks fern leaves and flowers into a headband, and kneels on the vanity to apply lipstick. He discovers a tail where his legs had been, and accepts a coral necklace from a large, blue fish to complete the look. Wide-eyed Julián drifts into a fantasy: submerged in water, his hair lengthens as he sheds his tank top and shorts before being swept up in a stream of sea creatures.
Their hair billows in brilliant hues, their dresses end in fishtails, and their joy fills the train carriage. While riding the subway home with his Nana one day, Julian notices three women spectacularly dressed up. In a beautiful, unspoken moment, she helps add to his outfit and takes him to a parade of people dressed up. A glimpse of three women dressed as mermaids leaves one boy filled with wonder and ready to dazzle the world. When he goes home, he dresses up like a mermaid with items found in the house and proudly shows his Grandmother. Riding the train on their way home from the swimming pool, Julián and his abuela see women clad in elegant, mint-green dresses trailing tail fins: mermaids. Jessica Love tells a story of a little boy who wants to dress up like the mermaids he saw on the bus.
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