The illustrations are better than the story.

Let me explain.

You have a Black mermaid (with absolutely GLORIOUS hair) and the cutest otter sidekick. I was obsessed. I want an otter. And together the two of them go on adventures---kind of think Ariel and Flounder from The Little Mermaid (just way more diverse). And it also promotes ingenuity and finding solutions!

But the text is meh. I wasn't wild about it; it was lackluster. So thumb through the book and marvel at Oona and Otto....and then you can leave it there. ( )

Oona is a mermaid who loves to explore and seek treasure. There is a not quite buried treasure that she has wanted for some time, but the obstacles to achieving this goal are many. However, Oona has the help of her friend Otto the otter. There are parts of this book that I see holes in as an adult reader. Why the need for the special glasses, and who made the bridge for what reason. But most of that will fly by the children. What they will see is a beautiful black mermaid and her fuzzy soft friend having adventures and living a glorious life. ( )

Oona the mermaid was a born adventurer, embroiled in danger from the time she was no bigger than a scallop. Together with her best friend Otto the otter, she scoured the ocean for treasure, always happy to seek after the beautiful and the wondrous. Only one one treasure eluded her: the crown embedded in a reef, far below the surface of the sea. After many failed attempts to secure this much-coveted prize, Oona became discouraged, until a seaside day with her land friends gave her some inspiration, and she was at it again...

Pairing an engaging, well-told tale from author Kelly DiPucchio with beautiful artwork from illustrator Raissa Figueroa, Oona is an immensely appealing picture-book, sure to please young readers and listeners who enjoy magical tales, or who love mermaids. There were moments here where I chuckled - the statement that a mermaid without her spark was like a seagull without an appetite: both unnatural - and other moments where I stopped to admire the artwork. I particularly liked the scene where Oona and Otto were wearing the glasses they found, and I thought Otto himself was a charming sidekick. It probably helps that I love otters! As some other reviewers have noted, it was also nice to have a black mermaid, as I don't think I've encountered too many before, in the world of picture-books. I finished this one with a happy feeling, appreciating the final idea about what makes something a treasure - being made, rather than found - and am very glad to know that a sequel, Oona and the Shark, is forthcoming. Recommended to young mermaid fans, and to picture-book readers looking for stories about perseverance. ( )

"Oona was sweet...
and a little bit salty,
like the ocean where she lived.
She was also brave and curious,
like most treasure hunters."

Oona and her friend Otto the otter love treasure-hunting, but when a golden crown is out of reach at the bottom of a dark rift - and they have a run-in with a shark trying to get it - Oona (temporarily) gives up. But then she has the idea to invent some goggles and use a long seashell to extend her reach, and she obtains her goal - but learns that "sometimes the best treasure in the world isn't found. It's made."

Oona is dark-skinned with a huge fluffy Afro; the underwater color palette features blues and greens with the occasional pop of yellow or purply-pink.

Illustrations in Procreate. ( )

perseverence ( )