Aqualicious
By Regan McMahon,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Pinkalicious helps mini-mermaid get home in cute beach tale.
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What's the Story?
Pinkalicious goes to the beach with her family, and while her parents snooze on the sand, she discovers a tiny, fit-in-your-hand mermaid -- a member of a species called merminnies -- inside a seashell. Aqua says she'd like to go home, so Pinkalicious and her brother, Peter, build her an elaborate sand castle. But Aqua tells them she needs to be underwater. They plop her in a cup of water, grab lunch, go miniature golfing, take her surfing, and eventually drop her off a sailboat into the sea, where she's afraid of the sharks, eels, and crabs. "This is not my home!" she yells. They take her back to their beach blanket, where their now-awake parents explain that Aqua is a famous attraction at the nearby seaside aquarium. (Aqua admits she sneaks out to the beach once in a while to "see what I can discover.") They return her there and watch her through the glass tank as she happily rides a seahorse.
Is It Any Good?
This story plays with a pretty irresistible concept: discovering a miniature mermaid on the beach and playing with her all day. And Pinkalicious does conclude, "Today was truly Aqualicious!" But there's not much to the story beyond going from activity to activity, and Pinkalicious doesn't use any magic this time, as she did in the previous Emeraldicious. Still, kids should find it a fun adventure with bright, engaging computer-enhanced art.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about mermaids. Do you think they're real? Do you like imagining there's a species of merminnies? What would you do if you found a merminnie?
What's fun about the Pinkalicious series? How does this book compare with others in the series that you've read?
Try thinking up a story that involves your favorite color and draw a picture to go with your story.
Book Details
- Author: Victoria Kann
- Illustrator: Victoria Kann
- Genre: Picture Book
- Topics: Princesses, Fairies, Mermaids, and More
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Harper
- Publication date: March 3, 2015
- Number of pages: 40
- Available on: Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: September 14, 2015
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