HARMONY & ECHO

A friend’s hand comes in handy.

Brown-skinned Harmony, who has long raven tresses, and tan-skinned Echo, who has a chin-length, straw-colored bob, are mermaid BFFs with lots in common: They collect sea glass and love fairy tales and daydreaming. But there are also differences between the two: Nothing fazes cool, collected Harmony, while Echo is a major worrywart. With an upcoming ballet performance looming, Echo frets about forgetting her routine. Despite Harmony’s calm assurance that all will be well because they’ve practiced repeatedly, Echo is still anxious. Harmony advises her pal to squeeze her hand if she gets scared; Echo begs for one last practice. All goes…swimmingly. During the show, Echo squeezes Harmony’s hand, Harmony reciprocates, and, as she predicted, the performance goes off splendidly. The audience claps and claps, the friends enjoy ice cream afterward, and they agree that hand-holding is “for whenever we need to.” This thin but sweet story reinforces the idea that true friends are always there to lend a helping hand. The brightly colored illustrations, rendered in watercolor ink and Photoshop, depict winsome, wide-eyed Harmony and Echo with tails of different hues: Harmony’s is yellow, while Echo’s is pink. Their lush, bubbly, watery environment, filled with assorted sea life, is inviting. Background mermaid characters are diverse in skin tone. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Mermaid mavens will take to this pair like fish to water.