Mermaid of the Moment: Near Island Coffee

Over the summer, dear friends of mine were living on Kodiak Island, Alaska, working as camp leaders and counselors. During their time there they explored the beaches and hills, and fished for salmon in the rivers.

Another discovery they made was Near Island Coffee, with their lovely mermaid stamped coffee cups, as you see above.

She looks pretty friendly to me, a reflection I'm sure of the people you'll find in Kodiak.

Mermaid Tea Towel from Primitives by Kathy

Being a mermaid fan has its perks.

One of the best things is that friends occasionally give me cute mermaid swag, including this dish towel from Primitives by Kathy.

I did a search on their site and found they have a collection of fun mermaid gift and home items, perfect for the mermaid lover in your life.

(Hint, hint.)

Mermaid of the Moment: Candace as Ariel on DWTS

This video of Candace Cameron Bure on Dancing with the Stars combines two of my favorite things from my childhood, The Little Mermaid and Candace, who starred as DJ Tanner on the sitcom Full House.

The TGIF lineup on Friday evenings was a weekly ritual for myself and my best friend, Jill. We'd have a sleepover and we'd hang out in our jammies. As soon as the theme song for Full House started we'd perform a special dance we had choreographed especially for the opening.

When I was in fifth grade, I played Ariel in the school play. Singing "Part of Your World," I wore a sparkly green-tailed outfit with puffy purple seashells attached to a flesh-colored leotard. It was the highlight of my fifth grade year.

So, seeing Candace perform this samba for "Under the Sea" as Ariel on DWTS puts a big smile on my face :)

Mermaid of the Moment: Henry Hudson's Mermaid

In 1608, as explorer Henry Hudson was traveling with his crew off the coast of Norway, he recorded this account in his logbook:

This morning one of our companie looking over the boord saw a Mermaid,…from the Navill upward, her backe and breasts were like a woman's, her body as big as one of us; her skin very white; and long haire hanging down behind, of color black; in her going downe they saw her tayle, which was like the tayle of a porposse and speckled like a Macrell.

My artist hubby George, created an illustration depicting this event.

Writers' Rumpus blog for kidlit authors & illustrators

As I'm about to head off to my second NESCBWI Conference in Springfield, MA this weekend, it seems fitting that I should share about another blog I occasionally write for--Writers' Rumpus.

Writers' Rumpus is an online journal for SCBWI members who want to share their opinions, expertise, book reviews, author, agent and editor interviews, and more.

Many of the contributors are members of the Andover, MA critique group and some are honorary members who have graduated from the group, but still share their insights.

What all the contributors have in common is their love of children's literature. Authors, illustrators, author-illustrators, pre-published, published, agented, unagented--we're all happy to read, write and learn whatever we can about children's literature and the journey of publication.

So, if you're looking for some new information from people excited about writing for kids, stop on by!

Crocheted Baby Mermaid Tails

There are a lot of crocheted mermaid tails and patterns available out there. But these are the most adorable I've seen. You can find more information about these patterns Here at The Whoot.com.

Mermaid of the Moment: Ocean Nymphs by Stephen Reid

"There dwelt the red-haired ocean-nymphs" by Stephen Reid, 1910.

Stephen Reid was a Scottish illustrator and painter (1873-1948) who specialized in Georgian settings and costume pieces. Born in Aberdeen, he was educated at Gray's School of Art and the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh. He was elected to the Royal Society of British Artists at the age of 33.

This illustration was created for a collection of Irish myths and sagas titled The High Deeds of Finn and other Bardic Romances of Ancient Ireland by T.W. Rolleston, published in 1910.

Here's the scene as described for this illustration:

At last Brian fashioned for himself by magic art a water-dress, with a helmet of crystal, and into the depths of the sea he plunged. Here, the story tells, he searched hither and thither for a fortnight, till at last he found that island, which was an island indeed with the sea over it and around it and beneath it. There dwelt the red-haired ocean-nymphs in glittering palaces among the sea-flowers, and they wrought fair embroidery with gold and jewels, and sang, as they wrought, a fairy music like the chiming of silver bells.

The entire text of The High Deeds of Finn can be found on Project Gutenberg. This excerpt comes from Chapter 2 of the Bardic Romances.