A modern-day fairy tale told in conversation between a young girl and the mermaid of Lake Michigan. The Lake Michigan Mermaidis a new tale that feels familiar. The breeze off the lake, the sand underfoot, the supreme sadness of being young and not in control—these sensations come rushing back page by page, bringing to life an ancient myth of coming of age in a troubled world. Freed from the minds of Linda Nemec Foster and Anne-Marie Oomen, the Lake Michigan mermaid serves as a voice of reason for when we’re caught in the riptide. This is a gripping tale in poems of a young girl’s desperate search for guidance in a world turned upside down by family and economic upheaval. Raised in a ramshackle cottage on the shores of Lake Michigan, Lykretia takes refuge in her beloved lake in the face of her grandmother’s illness and her mother’s eager attempts to sell their home following her recent divorce. One day Lykretia spots a creature in the water, something beautiful and inexplicable. Is it the mythical Lake Michigan mermaid, or an embodiment of the stories her grandmother told as dementia ravaged her mind? Thus begins a telepathic conversation between a lost young girl and Phyliadellacia, the mermaid who saves her in more ways than one. Accompanied by haunting illustrations, The Lake Michigan Mermaid offers a tender tale of friendship, redemption, and the life-giving power of water. As it explores family relationships and generational bonds, this book is an unforgettable experience that aims to connect readers of all ages.

Tallulah doesn't look like the other young mermaids living in the ocean. Her tail is a dull gray. And when all the other mermaids go on a quest to find the special gemstones that make their tails sparkle with color, Tallulah doesn't find her gemstone at all. When Turtle suggests that Tallulah searches the Great Lakes she is eager to give it a try, even though the other sea creatures believe mermaids don't belong in lakes. Tallulah explores the Great Lakes from north to south and east to west, until she finds a beautiful Petoskey stone and she realizes that she is finally exactly where she belongs.

A summer romp full of mystery, new friends, and maybe a mermaid! Eleven-year-old Anthoni Gillis is not the kind of kid who believes in fairies, unicorns, or even the word “maybe.” She’s more of a comic-books girl. So when her mom brings her to Thunder Lake for a summer at the Showboat Resort, she doesn’t believe the local rumors about the Boulay Mermaid. Anthoni has bigger fish to fry. She’s always wanted a True Blue Friend. But it’s been hard to find one, since for the past five years she’s been bouncing from town to town, helping her mother sell Beauty & the Bee cosmetic products to keep them both afloat. This summer will be different, though. Anthoni has a plan—a foolproof checklist for making lifelong friends! There won’t be any maybes this time. But as she grows entangled in local gossip, and her mother stretches the truth, Anthoni must decide if she’ll “stick to the plan,” like always, or dive into a summer full of extraordinary possibilities. Josephine Cameron’s energetic and heartfelt debut raises timeless questions about truth, lies, and the hope that grows between them.

Fans of memoir will appreciate the honest portrayal of growing up between rebellion and tradition in Love, Sex, and 4-H.

Inspired by her Polish American heritage and her first visit to her family's homeland in 1996, Linda Nemec Foster's stunning new collection poignantly reflects on the immigrant experience -- an experience of loss and discovery, of ambivalence and pride, of deep tragedy and redemption. Foster's own ethnicity as the daughter of second-generation immigrants from Poland is colored by America's somewhat disinterested view of the "other" Europe -- only recently emerged from history's dark shadow -- and of a country that for a hundred years did not exist as a political entity. In the book's opening poem, "The Awkward Young Girl Approaching You," she struggles with this sense of ethnic identity: "Who will speak for the dispossessed, / those who come from nowhere, / whose birthplace cannot be found / on any map . . . ?" Foster's attempts to reclaim an ethnic heritage, to search for herself in the mirror of her family's history, resonate throughout her verse.

Witty, yet emotional, dark, but with a sense of light, hopeful and hopeless all at the same time. Poetry and short story collection by Troy Graham, folk musician and songsmith from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Tales from the depths of Lake Superior's freshwater mermaids.

When fourteen-year-old Sam Lawrence stumbles across a magical medallion, eerie things begin to happen in the city of Moon Lake...Sam realizes that the legends might actually be true when he discovers Aurelia, a mysterious mermaid who has been trapped in the lake for 300 years. As Sam's friendship with the mermaid increases, so does the power of the medallion. Sam slowly begins to understand that the medallion is even more powerful... and he loves it. But could the medallion's revealing power become more dangerous than he thinks?