Mariana and the Merchild

Mariana lives by herself in a hut by the sea, a sea that provides her with fish for food and wood for fuel. Close by live the village children with whom she would love to make friends but they mock her and run away.

One day a fierce storm blows up causing the sea wolves to howl and threaten, then after it’s abated Mariana goes onto the shore and collects some of the things the sea has deposited there. One of these is a crab shell and once back in her hut, she empties her basket and notices that the crab has split and inside is a beautiful baby girl. Immediately Mariana loves the baby more than anything and she takes it in her arms and goes to visit the village Wise Woman. The Wise Woman says what she’s found is a Merbaby belonging to a Sea Spirit who has put her in the shell for protection from the sea wolves. Her advice is to put the Merbaby on a rock and watch for her mother to return and reclaim the infant. Return she does but instead of taking her child, she asks Mariana to take care of her until the seas calm. She promises to return each day to feed her little one and teach her to swim.

Time passes, Mariana is supremely happy as she watches the Merchild grow into a beautiful girl making friends with the village children and learning to speak ‘the words of our world’. Despite her love of the Merchild, the old woman knows in her heart she must allow her to return to the sea when the time comes. Inevitably, come it does and Mariana is devastated; however her kindness is repaid in many ways, including through the help and friendship of the village children.

Caroline Pitcher’s poetic retelling of this Chilean folktale is wondrously done and will assuredly captivate listeners and readers. So too will Jackie Morris’s richly detailed watercolour paintings, some of which have an ethereal quality. Altogether a magical conjuring forth of a folk tale world that will linger long in the reader’s mind after the covers of the book are closed.