Berlie Doherty, illus. Tamsin Rosewell
Uclan Publishing
Age 9-11
When a strange creature, half girl and half fish is brought to the marine sanctuary where Sasha works, she wants to find out more. The sea maiden agrees to tell Sasha about her world on condition Sasha helps her return to the sea. An amazing story unfolds, about another sea maiden called Merryn, her quest for independence and adventure and the dangers she faces when she encounters land and the human world.
This is a beautifully written and illustrated short novel steeped in folk lore. The book raises questions with wider relevance in particular about the ethics of taking creatures from their natural habitat for research.
Find out about the background to the book, inspiration for the story, how the illustrations were made and how the author and illustrator worked together here:
Talk about the story
◼︎How does Merryn feel at different points in the story? What would you tell someone else about her?
◼︎Which scene sticks in your memory the clearest?
◼︎‘You have turned me into an exhibit,’ said Marissa/Sylla – should the marine life sanctuary have kept her? Talk about why they did this.
See our print-off activity book with some of these ideas and other activities
Things to make and do
Create a picture
Paint a picture of Merryn’s underwater world. Create a background wash using blue and green inks or paint –when this is dry add thicker swirls of blue and green to look like water or waves. Draw silhouettes of fish, reeds or seamen and maids onto black paper cut them out and arrange them on the background.
Make music
Merryn’s song was strangely captivating. Use makeshift instruments or your voice to create the mysterious song of the seamaiden.
Write a poem
Look back through the story and collect a few lines which you really like. Choose one or more to write in the middle of a piece of paper adding patterns around them to create a frame.
For example:
‘The slipping sun had turned the sea to a glowing, liquid gold’
‘And there it was surrounding her, the vast endless shimmering ocean.’
Make an information book
Make a booklet about mythical aquatic creatures. See the links in the ‘find out more’ section below.
Find out more
◼︎Find out more about author Berlie Doherty https://berliedoherty.com/
Read another book by Berlie Doherty, titles include:
Street Child
Granny was a Buffer Girl*
Children of Winter*
Treason
Blue John
*New editions of these books are now available with cover illustrations by Tamsin Rothwell.
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