By Lucy Courtenay
It's Marnie's first day at mermaid school, nerves and all, and the classmate who keeps needling her turns out to be the one she has to rescue.
It's Marnie Blue's first day at Lady Sealia Foam's Mermaid School, and she's nervous about pretty much everything: making friends, riding a seahorse, and the fact that everyone expects her to be a troublemaker like her famous aunt. A classmate named Orla keeps trying to land her in trouble, which doesn't help. Then Orla swims into real danger, and it's Marnie who goes after her. The two of them come out the other side something close to friends. It's the first book in a sparkly, gently funny series, with pictures on nearly every page.
For a child making the jump from picture books to real chapters, this one is built to make it easy. The chapters are short, the big friendly illustrations break up the text on almost every page, and the mermaid world does the pulling. Underneath the glitter it's a story every child recognizes: being the new one, feeling scared, hoping to be liked. The mean classmate turning into a friend gives it a satisfying shape. And there are several more in the series, so if this one clicks you've already got the next few lined up.