Gorgeous illustrations, an inventive underwater world and a school-based story make this a perfect read for fans of the Worst Witch and Bad Mermaids. It’s excellent for learning the butterfly stroke, as well as holding your breath, working the stomach muscles and all-round fitness. The book is the first in a series and I can see it being very popular as Mermaids seem to be everywhere at the moment.

That isn’t fair, because everyone is different, and often siblings are very different from one another. There was an interesting piece of Marnie’s aunt’s past life revealed at the end, so I’m curious to see what happens in the next book!

The experience will include an introduction to mermaid swimming, some choreography, swimming for treasures under the water. The teacher gives her a warning and tells her so won’t tolerate another member of the Blue family behaving in an unruly manner. Later, we learn why, and it's a good lesson in empathy and realizing that, while the behavior of bullies is never okay, they are still real human beings (or, er, mermaids) and probably have very real reasons why they act the way they do, like that they are hurting/scared. It’s possible to bring your own mermaid tail and fin if you have them, but we ask that you sign a disclaimer form before the session begins.

Swimming as a Mermaid is a world-wide phenomenon and Mayim Mermaid Academy educates all aspects of Mermaiding and Mermaid Tail Safety. I was brought up that as long as I am me and not pretending to be someone I am not, to not worry about what people think of me. When I attended I was told not to let anyone know who my middle sister was as the teachers would think that I would be just like her and be labelled ‘disobedient or naughty’ too. And what if the teachers assume she’s just like her Aunt Christabel, a famous singer who was a troublemaker growing up.You see I have two older sisters who went to the same school as me (they had just left by the time I started). I love how these details have been mentioned, it makes the whole story all the more lovely and the illustrations on almost every page really added to how lovely the whole story felt. Established by Founder and Director Michelle Forsbrey in 2015, Mayim Mermaid Academy has trained over 2000 mermaids and mermen and offers a wide variety of bespoke mermaid experiences. The story also moves along the sub-plot, involving Marnie’s glamorous auntie Christabel and her romance with a handsome human!

We held our first mermaid experience as a one-off event in February 2019, but it proved so popular that it’s now back by crowd-pleasing demand! It will be usually held on the beach and during the at a local pool, however during the winter months we use various pools and props to have the best background and surroundings for your pictures. All the pictures are a mix of black, white and grey and I love how clear and fun everything looks and all the detail included in each image, like the shells in Marnie’s hair. But when Mum is too unwell to join the trip, Aunt Christabel agrees to come in her place, and she was offishially the naughtiest mermaid the school has ever known. Lucy Courtenay has officially been writing children’s fiction since 1999, and unofficially for a lot longer than that.Trading Address (Warehouse) Unit E, Vulcan Business Complex, Vulcan Road, Leicester, Leicestershire, LE5 3EB. Includes all of what’s included in the Group Mermaid Experience, however having less mermaids and mermen, will give us more time for perfecting moves, photography and a more individual experience. Marnie Blue has settled into Lady Sealia Foam’s Mermaid School and become best friends with Pearl and Orla.