Just Your Average Teenage Mer-Girl The only thing that terrifies Jade more than the ocean is dancing at the Fall Formal. Because Jade has two left feet—er, flippers. Who knew being a high school freshman is even more awkward than being a plus-size aqua-phobic mer-girl? At least her only drama is of the human variety... Or not. The Mermish Council has just declared that all land-dwelling mers but return to the ocean. Pronto. But there's no way Jade is going to let her mom, or Luke, her...boyfriend? mer-guy-friend?, disappear into the deep, dark ocean. Again. After all, a girl's got to have a date to her first dance. If Jade can stop mer-mageddon, finding a plus-size dress that doesn't look like a shower curtain should be a piece of cake. Praise for Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings: "Bravo to Hélène Boudreau for hitting the bull's-eye with a fresh, affectionate, watery twist on a classic, coming-of-age story."—New York Journal of Books "The author keeps the suspense high...while tapping straight into young teens' angst about friends, enemies, and boys."—Kirkus Reviews

It's hard being a pre-teen girl; it's even harder when you find out you're a mermaid! This is a fast-paced coming-of-age comedy novel that has adventure, mystery, and a touch of romance by Hélène Boudreau, nominated for a Canadian children's choice award for her middle grade novel ACADIAN STAR. If she hadn't been so clueless, she might have seen it coming. But really, who expects to get into a relaxing bathtub after a stressful day of shopping for tankinis and come out with scales and a tail? Most. Embarrassing. Moment. Ever. Jade soon discovers she inherited her mermaid tendencies from her mom. But if Mom was a mermaid, how did she drown? Jade is determined to find out. So how does a plus-size, aqua-phobic mer-girl go about doing that exactly? And how will Jade ever be able to explain her secret to her best friend, Cori, and to her crush, Luke? This summer is about to get a lot more interesting...

Sun, surf, and tropical breezes—too bad this mermaid's perfect vacation is about to turn into a menacing mystery! A tropical vacation sounds like the perfect way to spend fall break—even for an aqua-phobic mer-girl like Jade. She can't wait to enjoy the warm sunshine and all-you-can-eat buffet with her best friend Cori and boyfriend Luke. (That's right. Boyfriend. It's official.) But when a body splashes into the water as a cruise ship enters the harbor, Jade realizes there might be trouble in paradise. And the mysterious boy selling conch shells in the market definitely knows more than he's letting on. Jade promised herself: No mer drama on vacation! But it couldn't hurt to check things out...right? Praise for Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings: "Bravo to Hélène Boudreau for hitting the bull's-eye with a fresh, affectionate, eatery twist on the classic coming-of-age-story."—New York Journal of Books "The author keeps suspense high...while tapping straight into young teens' angst about friends, enemies, and boys."—Kirkus Reviews

The most trusted guide to the world of children's publishing! If you write or illustrate for young readers with the hope of getting published, the 2015 Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market is the trusted resource you need. Now in its 27th edition, CWIM is the definitive publishing guide for anyone who seeks to write or illustrate for kids and young adults. Inside you'll find more than 500 listings for children's book markets (publishers, agents, magazines, and more)--including a point of contact, how to properly submit your work, and what categories each market accepts. You'll also find: • Interviews with creators of today's successful children's books, including James Dashner (The Maze Runner series), Lauren DeStefano (Wither series), and illustrator Loren Long (Of Thee I Sing with Barack Obama) • Success stories and advice from 13 debut authors and 9 debut illustrators • Informative articles on how to write for boys and other "reluctant readers," how to write and sell children's nonfiction, how to sell your picture book, the difference between young adult and middle-grade, and much more *Includes access to the webinar "Be Your Own Editor: Tips for Self-Editing Your Children's Book" from editor Harold Underdown* This 60-minute webinar shows how to take your work and transform it into something great that will get editors, agents and readers excited. It's taught by Harold Underdown, who is both the editor of the popular kidlit website, The Purple Crayon, and the author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Publishing Children's Books. The truth is that getting a first draft completed is just the beginning for any writer. You've got to refine, revise, polish and overhaul your writing to make it the finest final product it can be -- and that's exactly what this webinar will teach you how to do.

The Most Trusted Guide to the World of Children’s Publishing If you write or illustrate for young readers with the hope of getting published, the 2013 Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market is the trusted resource you need. Now in its 25th edition, CWIM is the definitive publishing guide for anyone who seeks to write or illustrate for kids and young adults. Inside you’ll find more than 650 listings for children’s book markets (publishers, agents, magazines and more) - including a point of contact, how to properly submit your work, and what categories they’re looking for.You’ll also find: • Profiles of debut authors who succeeded, as well as interviews with acclaimed novelists such as Garth Nix (The Old Kingdom and Seventh Tower series), Tamora Pierce (Song of the Lioness series) and Marissa Meyer (Cinder) • A special roundup with more than 20 SCBWI advisors worldwide who share their best advice on how to get your children’s book published and break out • In-depth articles on topics such as picture book pacing, illustration, query letters, finding and agent, social media, craft and voice, writers’ conferences and more! PLEASE NOTE: Free subscriptions are NOT included with the e-book edition of this title.

Contributions by Megan Brown, Jill Coste, Sara K. Day, Rachel Dean-Ruzicka, Rebekah Fitzsimmons, Amber Gray, Roxanne Harde, Tom Jesse, Heidi Jones, Kaylee Jangula Mootz, Leah Phillips, Rachel L. Rickard Rebellino, S. R. Toliver, Jason Vanfosson, Sarah E. Whitney, and Casey Alane Wilson While critical and popular attention afforded to twenty-first-century young adult literature has exponentially increased in recent years, classroom materials and scholarship have remained static in focus and slight in scope. Twilight, The Hunger Games, The Fault in Our Stars, and The Hate U Give overwhelm conversations among scholars and critics—but these are far from the only texts in need of analysis. Beyond the Blockbusters: Themes and Trends in Contemporary Young Adult Fiction offers a necessary remedy to this limiting perspective, bringing together essays about the many subgenres, themes, and character types that have until now been overlooked. The collection tackles a diverse range of topics—modern updates to the marriage plot; fairy tale retellings in dystopian settings; stories of extrajudicial police killings and racial justice. The approaches are united, though, by a commitment to exploring the large-scale generic and theoretical structures at work in each set of texts. As a collection, Beyond the Blockbusters is an exciting entryway into a field that continues to grow and change even as its works captivate massive audiences. It will prove a crucial addition to the library of any scholar or instructor of young adult literature.

The author of The Book of the Bizarre presents an enchanting collection of classic mermaid stories and historical anecdotes from around the world. From Homer's Odyssey to Pirates of the Caribbean, mermaids have fascinated popular culture for centuries. Varla Ventura explores the wealth of literature about these mythical creatures in this charming anthology. This volume includes turn of the century tales of merfolk from Bret Harte, T. Crofton Croker, and W.B. Yeats, along with tantalizing trivia, facts, first-hand accounts, and speculations about mermaids in popular culture. In these pages, you will discover: · Many people today believe that early explorer sightings of mermaids were actually manatees. · The legendary pirate Blackbeard was afraid of his crew being lured into a watery grave by mermaids, so he ordered his ships to avoid areas where they were said to be. · Since 2009, the town of Kiryat Yam, Israel, has offered a prize of $1 million dollars to anyone who can prove the mermaid off their coast is real. The prize remains unclaimed.