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Julian Is a Mermaid
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love
110 posts | 91 read | 36 to read
In an exuberant picture book, a glimpse of costumed mermaids leaves one boy flooded with wonder and ready to dazzle the world. While riding the subway home from the pool with his abuela one day, Julian notices three women spectacularly dressed up. Their hair billows in brilliant hues, their dresses end in fishtails, and their joy fills the train car. When Julian gets home, daydreaming of the magic he's seen, all he can think about is dressing up just like the ladies in his own fabulous mermaid costume: a butter-yellow curtain for his tail, the fronds of a potted fern for his headdress. But what will Abuela think about the mess he makes -- and even more importantly, what will she think about how Julian sees himself? Mesmerizing and full of heart, Jessica Love's author-illustrator debut is a jubilant picture of self-love and a radiant celebration of individuality.
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Bookish_Gal
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love
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Pickpick

First off, this book is tiny small. Only disappointment is in length 22pages not giving time to really feel it. Picked up because it‘s challenged in my library.
So, it is a beautifully colored book about a boy, Julian, who lives mermaids. He aspires it so much he strips and uses his abuelas decorations to turn himself into one. No direct mention of trans, but a boy trying to be someone whom society generally says he can‘t be. Let boys be creative

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JoyBlue
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love
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Wow—Julián, like his creator's illustrations, is fabulous!

TheBookHippie I love this whole series!!! 2mo
TheBookHippie 👋🏼 friend! 2mo
mariaku21 I loved this one! The different illustrations of the different adults and body shapes was just beautiful to see! 2mo
See All 7 Comments
JoyBlue @TheBookHippie I'll definitely have to tuck these in to my TBR occasionally. 2mo
JoyBlue @mariaku21 I agree completely! 💙 2mo
39 likes2 stack adds7 comments
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mcappel
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love
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mcappel
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love

This book would be great to read to a class about individuality and how it is okay to be different and be who you want to be. This book also makes a topic that is usually a “girl“ topic into a topic that everyone can enjoy.

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mcappel
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love
Pickpick

Julian Is a Mermaid by Jessica Love is a book about a little boy who wants to be a mermaid. The illustrations look like watercolor, which makes the colors seem light and airy, which goes along with mermaids and the ocean. The vibrant colors and drawings help to give each page movement. The colors and drawings help to give the page dimensions. LOVE LOVE LOVE these illustrations. Seems like it is made on cardboard paper.

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ChrysFey
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love
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TheBookHippie
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love
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#TRANSRIGHTSREADATHON picture books 🏳️‍⚧️

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IndoorDame Julian is my favorite! But you have a couple here I haven‘t read yet. Excited to check them out! 12mo
TheBookHippie @IndoorDame oh shoot the illustrator is listed this is the author we loved earlier in the week 12mo
IndoorDame @TheBookHippie fabulous!! Can‘t wait to see what he does for little readers! 12mo
Bookzombie I haven‘t read The Rainbow, but love the rest! 12mo
TheBookHippie @Bookzombie these are my regular read alouds I love them all. Rainbow was a cover thing but I love it too!!! The cover reminded me of Marsha P Johnson . 12mo
51 likes2 stack adds11 comments
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channingfortney
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love
Pickpick

Stonewall Book Award winner. This picture book is about a boy who dreams about becoming a mermaid. However, he‘s embarrassed about this dream. One day he tried to fashion a mermaid costume out of materials around his house so he could compete in a contest for best mermaid. His grandma seemed upset, however towards the end ended up contributing to his costume and dream. He went on to compete in the mermaid contest.

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cm779518
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love
Pickpick

This book was a winner of the Stonewall Book Award! This book is about a book who really wants to become a mermaid. He thinks about peoples secret dreams and resonates with them.

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oliviascrimo
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love

Stonewall Book Award
April 23rd, 2018
Julian sees a woman on the subway wearing this amazing dress. So, Julian decides to make his own version of the dress. Julian worries that some may not like his dress and the way he is look at. This book talks about all the self-love that Julian must have because he is happy in the dress.

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MaddieBrown3
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love
Mehso-so

Date Read: 9-21-22
Name of Award (if applicable): Stonewall Book Award
Purpose of Award (if applicable): Honor LGBTQ+ experience
Date of Publication: April 2018
Genre: Fiction
Brief Summary: A little boy, Julian talks to his abuelo about mermaids. He loves them and wants to pretend to be one. He dresses up like a mermaid. He makes a mess while doing it. His abuela takes him to a parade of mermaids that look like him all dressed up.

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clairebourq_2023
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love
Pickpick

This is a children's picture book about a boy who wants to become a mermaid. This dream seems uncommon for the typical boy Julian's age so he hides in his room when he dresses up. He then nervously decides to share this dream with his abeula. His abeula is more than understanding and even brings him to a parade where everyone is dressed as mermaids. Julian feels relief when he seems to have found his community. This is a great book to use in the

clairebourq_2023 classroom of all ages, to talk about topics like gender identity. I really enjoy this book and would highly recommend it.

Awards: Stonewall Book Award; Klaus Flugge Prize
1y
1 like1 comment
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allycrothers
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love
Pickpick

Originally published - April 2018
Author & Illustrator - Jessica Love
Genre -Fiction
Awards- Stonewall awards
This story covers a boy named Julian who dreams of being a mermaid. He loves dressing up as mermaids and does anything he can to become one. I love this book for children. It shows to always be true to yourself and it's okay to dream different than others. This book is perfect for students, and will definitely be adding to my classroom!

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rileydenney
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love

“Julian has a good idea.“ (dressing as a mermaid)

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rileydenney
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love

This book is a beautiful book about acceptance and love. It would be great to educate young children about LGBTQ+ community.

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rileydenney
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love
Pickpick

This book won the Stonewall Book Award which is awarded to books that represent LQBTQ+. It is about a young boy who longs to appear as something else, but his grandmother disapproves. One day he finally decides to take a curtain and use it to dress as a mermaid. His grandmother finally accepts him for who he is and takes him to see other “mermaids.“

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caitlinblack
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love
Pickpick

Published in 2018, This story is about a boy who wants to become a mermaid and be a part of a mermaid parade. He decides to use what he has at home to create a mermaid outfit for himself. At first, his grandma showed a look of disapproval but then came around and gave him a necklace and took him to the parade.

Genre:
Children's Picture Book

Awards:
Stonewall

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sarahyurco
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love
Pickpick

Published: 2018
This is a story about a boy named Julian who loves mermaids and decides to dress up like one. His Abuela sees that he loves mermaids and takes him to a place where he can see them. She is supportive of him in this way and allows him to chase his dreams of becoming a mermaid.
Award: Stonewall Award Winner

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mariaku21
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love
Pickpick

I loved this from the minute I opened the book! The opening illustration had won me over with the depiction of varying body types and people that are so much closer to real life.

Love did a great job of highlighting body shapes and differences as the illustrations do the bulk of the talking here as we watch Julián and his Abuela in a slice of life moment that ensures his imagination.

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gclift
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love
Pickpick

Julian Is a Mermaid was written by Jessica Love and published in 2018. This is a beautiful book about LGBTQ+ awareness for younger children. This book also represents the Spanish language and culture. It has won the Stonewall book award. Great book for the classroom to represent diversity!

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Hcecrle
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love

This story was read to us in class and it is a great story to use in a classroom. It shows readers that you can be anything you want to be and the way you look, dress, and talk is accepted and allowed. Julian dressed up as a mermaid using materials he found around his house while his grandmother was in another room. She then took him to see other dress-up mermaids that dressed just like he was. This book received the Stonewall Book Award“.

Hcecrle Fiction
Published in 2018
1y
1 comment
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kallikramer
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love
Pickpick

Published in 2018. Julian is a Mermaid is about a young boy who decides that he wants to be a mermaid. The young boy goes and participates in the Coney Island mermaid parade. I would read this book to students because it allows students to realize that they do not have to do things that are stereotyped as “male and female“. It encourages students to do things they love. This is a fiction book that won the Stonewall Book Award.

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cm779518
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love
Mehso-so

Stonewall Book Award — Published in April of 2018.

This book is pretty different but I think leaves off a strong message and can be really engaging if you have the time. The books message to me really just seemed to be a book about being seen who you truly are as a person from the people that you are surrounded by!

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mm991518
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love

Julian Is a Mermaid by Jessica Love is a Stonewall Award winner published in 2018. This book is about a child named Julian who wants to be a Mermaid. Their Abuela saw Julian dressed as a mermaid and decided to take them somewhere. Abuela took them to a place that had so many other people dressed as mermaids. This shows how Abuela is supportive of Julian. I think this is a great book to share in a classroom.

mm991518 Genre: Fiction 1y
1 comment
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PuddleJumper
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love
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Beautiful book

PatriciaU One of my all-time favorites!!! 2y
PuddleJumper @PatriciaU I bought it for my niece and couldn't resist reading. Glad I did! 2y
8 likes2 comments
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thegirlwiththelibrarybag
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love
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Pickpick

Julian loves mermaids, he daydreams of mermaids - and one day when he‘s left to his own devices when his Nana is having a bath - he fashions his own mermaid outfit out of a curtain and some ferns - Nana initially doesn‘t seem too impressed about the curtain - but she disappears and returns with a string of pearls for him ❤️ Nana is 🥰 . The illustrations are gorgeous and the message is lovely.

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Bookzombie
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love
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#12Booksof2020 Day 7

Another picture book this time, well two actually. I loved both of these. The stories are lovely and the illustrations are incredible.

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MrsMalaprop
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love
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This arrived today. Heard about it online somewhere & knew I had to have it, so I can gift it to one of my nieces or nephews. Just beautiful 😍🧜‍♀️🧜‍♂️💕.

Jeg Isn‘t it wonderful. There is a new one, Julian at the wedding. Love it. 3y
MrsMalaprop @Jeg Yes, I read about that one too. 💕 3y
IndoorDame This is one of my favorites! 3y
Rissreads Oooooo I might have to get one! 3y
43 likes4 comments
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GatheringBooks
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love
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#ForeverNovember Day 26: These two titles qualify for #BookYouAreGratefulFor. Fierce, bold, and absolutely radiant.

OriginalCyn620 They look cute! 3y
39 likes1 comment
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arlenefinnigan
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love
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Pickpick

Oh this is just gorgeous. The watercolour pictures are absolutely beautiful and the story is an adorable one of freedom of expression and acceptance. Glorious stuff.

ju.ca.no ❤️ 3y
CarolynM Love it❤️ 3y
readordierachel Such a lovely book ❤ 3y
25 likes3 comments
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arlenefinnigan
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love
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#ReadHarder challenge 22: a picture book with a human main character from a marginalised community. And another inappropriate #BooksAndBooze pick.

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IselaKay
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love
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This is a great book that portrays a young boy who loves mermaids, likes to dress up, and is encouraged to be himself!
I recorded myself reading it for Day of Reading; an event hosted by United Way that encourages children to read and learn.

I also picked this book in honor of #HispanicHeritageMonth

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Librarybelle
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love
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Julian loves mermaids, and he dreams of becoming one. Jessica Love‘s illustrations and narration brings Julian‘s dreams to life in a vivid and touching way. This book celebrates individuality and being who you are. There are also a few Spanish words that make for a good Spanish lesson. Letter J for #BBRC #A2Z

Sarahreadstoomuch ❤️❤️❤️ 4y
LibrarianRyan Yeah. The sequel is out soon. 4y
readordierachel I adore this book ❤ It's a bedtime favorite 4y
Librarybelle @readordierachel ❤️❤️❤️ 4y
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Emmaturtle3
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love
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Pickpick

This beautifully illustrated book is about a boy, Julian, who‘s in awe of the women dressed as mermaids on the train, so he decides he wants to be a mermaid too! His abuela supports his dream, helps finish his amazing mermaid costume, and walks alongside him in the parade. This book, Julian is a Mermaid, is a RF book written by Jessica Love and a Jane Addams award winner! A must have, to teach children how to truly be themselves! #ucflae3414su20

Emmaturtle3 This is a great RA for students, I hope to use this book in my future classroom to encourage students that it is okay to be different; that makes you YOU! ESOL strategy #1 can be incorporated when asking students question about the text as you read. UDL 2.1 can be used by defining the vocabulary used before starting the lesson! (edited) 4y
Emmaturtle3 This resource: https://assets2.hrc.org/welcoming-schools/documents/WS_Lesson_Julián_Is_a_Mer... is a super interesting link to addressing gender at an elementary school level. It provides lessons and activities to support inclusion in the classroom! 4y
LauraLeighn This looks like an insanely cute book! I love your description of it, it really sells the book. The lesson to “okay to be different; that makes you YOU!“ is so important especially in elementary school, I love your ESOL and UDL strategy, great post! 4y
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RamzieM This looks like an amazing book choice! I think you paired your ESOL and UDL strategies for a read aloud. 4y
LibrarianRyan Its getting a sequel. Stay tuned for #coverlove #MGedition because i will have it in there later today. 4y
nquintus I love this book! It also won a Stonewall award for LGBTQ representation, so I agree that it would be a wonderful add to a diverse classroom library. Great choice, Emma! 4y
DrSpalding I agree this would be an excellent read aloud to emphasize the theme of being unique. Your universal design and English learner strategies work and your resource is a good one. I believe the sequel is about Julian going to a wedding. 4y
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nquintus
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love
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Julian is a Mermaid is a gorgeous RF picture book written and illustrated by Jessica Love. It has earned many honors, including the Stonewall, Addams, and NAIBA awards. This touching story is about a boy who lives with his abuela and dreams of being a mermaid. Abuela responds to his wish with pure love. https://assets2.hrc.org/welcoming-schools/documents/WS_Lesson_Julia%CC%81n_Is_a_...
#ucflae3414su20

nquintus Julian is a Mermaid is about self-love, acceptance, and family diversity. This story would be excellent in an RA, so the teacher is readily available for support with questions. Because the book has both English and Spanish words, it is more comprehensible to Spanish-speaking ELs than an English-only book. This would be excellent to use with ESOL strategy 12: teach to language and content. It also goes well with UDL guideline 3.2 (relationships). 4y
LibrarianRyan LOVE THIS BOOK 4y
nquintus @LibrarianRyan Me tooooo!!! 4y
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DrSpalding Themes in this book are so important in our classrooms. Good books truly can teach a variety of concepts that children need to know to be successful in life. I also like that you are connecting with other Litsy members! I hope you will continue to use this resource as you progress into your profession. 4y
DrSpalding I got an error message when I clicked on your resource? 4y
nquintus Dr. Spalding, I just checked the resource and it does open on my phone. Would you like me to email it to you separately? 4y
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cozypunk
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love
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Both the text and illustrations are so sweet and simple. It's *almost* wordless but every pose shows Julian's impulses and imagination. (I'm low-key jealous that this is the author's first book.) I'd love to switch seats and have a child read this book to me. Hearing the story from a kid's point of view would be so lovely. Good for fans of mermaids or dress-up. Also for readers who love to linger over artwork. #dw2020reads

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Kenyazero
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love
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Thank you for the tag. @Eggs !
1. I've ways enjoyed Jan Brett's work, and Am rather a fan of Jessica Love and Helle Urban!
2. I can't say I have specific summer reading, so it's going well?
3. Hmmmm I think my last book buy was a Carol Berg book or And the Band Played On when I found them at a used store I was at 🤔
#wonderouswednesday

Eggs ❤️❤️ Jan Brett! Thanks for joining in 👏🏻👏🏻 4y
7 likes1 comment
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Kenyazero
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love
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June 9 (I'm a day behind, oops!): This charming children's book is about a little boy who wants to wear dresses and be as pretty as a mermaid. It's a beautiful and adorable exploration of gender identity. #lgbtqbooks #lgbt #lgbtq #lgbtqchildrensbooks #pridemonth2020

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Madison_swart
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love
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Pickpick

This amazing RF, stonewall book award winner is about being true to yourself and still being loved by those who care about you. This would be a great RA to teach a lesson about revealing who you really are. jesslove.format.com is the author website and has all of her other great books posted. The EL principle of encouraging self talk goes right along this story. UDL principle 9.2 facilitate personal coping skills and strategies. #UCFLAE3414sp20

DrSpalding This is a lovely diverse book with a wonderful message. Expand a bit on how you would use this book and how you would align the English learner and universal design principles to benefit all students in your classroom. 4y
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nelehelen
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love
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Pickpick

Loved this. Beautiful and just makes you feel good.

I couldn‘t stay up much longer to read anything else, but feels good to have one book down for the #readathon!

#ReadHarder2020
#24in48
#StayHome24in48

BookishMe Looks incredible 4y
Soubhiville I love this one too! 4y
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Emilymdxn
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love
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Pickpick

Such a beautiful, important picture book. It makes me so happy seeing a picture book that‘s so effortlessly inclusive, full of love, and unexpectedly funny with so few words - did anyone notice the lady who is a lobster mermaid?? Idk what identity that could symbolise but I love it. It gives me heart to live in a world where this exists.

#wintergames #merryreaders #impulseread @Clwojick @StayCurious

ardithdawn So cute! I‘ll be sure to check this out. The kiddos I work with are into mermaids, & they‘d probably dig something like this. 4y
TheBookHippie I love this book! 4y
Clwojick 11 pt 4y
22 likes1 stack add3 comments
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Shannyblake
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love
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#UCFLAE3414f2019 Julian is a Mermaid is a gorgeous multi award winning book. One of the awards it has received out of the many is the Stonewall Award. This book is the story of a young boy named Julian who goes to the swimming pool every weekend with his Abuela. While they are leaving the pool one day, Julian witnesses four mermaids leaving.

Shannyblake UDL Guidelines Promote expectations and beliefs that optimize motivation (9.1) and for the ESOL strategy I would use Maintain a library of supplementary books and workbooks written in
simple English, which offer additional illustrations for problems (26)
4y
Shannyblake A fun activity for this book would have the students do readers theatre to the story.

4y
karlasanabria1 This book sounds so amazing, I will definitely be reading it soon. Your teaching strategy aligned with this book sounds perfect, I also like your UDL Guideline of optimizing motivation. Great job! 4y
DrSpalding Good book! We have discussed our mutual love for this particular title. I like the idea of a readers theater. 4y
1 like5 comments
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laurar311
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love
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Pickpick

Bought this book for my niece - the illustrations are gorgeous. Highly recommended!

Plus it matches the #mermaid puzzle we put together today.

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Mindelan
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love
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Pickpick

Already have some 4 year olds thinking a lot about gender at school, so I went and talked face to face with the librarian who recommended books to me last year. Thought I should read this new one over breakfast and I am destroyed. I can‘t wait to read this in class!

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carlenerubin
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love
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Pickpick

Julian is a Mermaid is a RF picture book illustrated and written by Jessica Love. This book has won the Stonewall Book Award. Julian is Mermaid is about a boy and his abuela. Julian wants nothing more than to be a mermaid like the people he saw and his abuela encourages him to dress up as one. This book is incredibly powerful and I would use it as a S in my classroom.

carlenerubin https://www.readacrossamerica.org/julian-is-a-mermaid/

UDL: 7.2
ESOL: 26

Julian is a mermaid focuses on a latinx family. It represents children that are not traditionally found in mainstreamed children's literature. It makes for an excellent addition to anyones classroom library.

#UCFLAE3414SU19
5y
Apeacock12 I recently purchased this book and I love it! It's such a sweet story, and I love how much support he has from his community and grandmother. Love the classroom application ideas and writing prompts provided in the link. This is a great book to use in your classroom. 5y
DrSpalding Excellent book selection! Continue seeking out the Stonewall book awards for books that meet the needs of diverse students in our classrooms. 5y
4 likes3 comments
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Kcompton2912
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love
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Pickpick

A Stonewall Book Award winner, this MF is a wonderful tale of a little boy who wants to become a mermaid. With the help of his grandmother, he is able to become a mermaid and join the other mermaids in a huge parade. This book is a metaphor for being transgender. This book is best done as a RA to help answer the questions that most students will have and to help them receive the central message better.

Kcompton2912 This resource has activities that help students practice words that may be unfamiliar to them, since there is a large amount of Spanish used. https://www.rif.org/literacy-central/book/julian-mermaid The UDL principle 2.4, promote understanding across languages, and the ELL strategy 5, teach technical vocabulary supporting key concepts, can be met using this book with the strategy and resource. #UCFLAE3414SU19 5y
Estradan I‘ve been wanting to read this book since Dr. Spalding first showed us this book! Using this as a RA and having students have an open discussion is such a great idea because students will be able to ask their questions in a safe environment. 5y
DrSpalding Reading is Fundamental is an excellent resource for such a wonderful award-winning book. Read aloud is perfect and the resource can assist you with appropriate questions/vocabulary. 5y
5 likes3 comments
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Blaire
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love
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Pickpick

Julian is a little boy whose abuela takes him swimming. He loves mermaids and wants to be one. In a beautifully illustrated book it is unclear at first what his abuela thinks of his wish. Her embrace of him and the gorgeous parade of mermaids and other sea creatures at the end was very touching. #bbrc #picturebooksatoz #J @LibrarianRyan @LibrarianJen happy to see this at my local book store #taylorbooms

LibrarianRyan 😁❤️👍🏻 5y
58 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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Sunraven
Julian Is a Mermaid | Jessica Love
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Pickpick

Requested this from the library because of Littens, and completely worth it. I don‘t have kids but I almost wish I did, just to share things like this. If you do have kids, please read this to them for me! 😁💖

Oddly, it‘s connected thematically (in my mind at least) to Adam Savage‘s Every Tool‘s a Hammer, which I‘m also reading now. Acceptance, costumes, following what you love — it‘s all in there.

Also gorgeous. I might need my own copy.

alisiakae 💜💜💜 5y
Sunraven @4thhouseontheleft ❤️ indeed! 5y
Macker11 I have this book for my classroom library!! Love it 5y
Sunraven @Macker11: That‘s awesome! I know I would have enjoyed having this one in my school library when I was a kid (though I feel like I need its message more now than I did then, haha). 5y
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