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Reality gets a splash of fantasy inFish Girl.
In turn, this propels Mira to learn more about herself and what shes capable of.
Annie Hosfeld; courtesy Donna Jo Napoli
Over the years this idea narrowed down to a building full of water, full of fish.
I then thought of my long time friend, Donna Jo.
Shes an amazing writer, an expert on folk tales, and had written a book about mermaids.
Annie Hosfeld; courtesy Donna Jo Napoli
I called her up and she immediately said she was in.
The ideas for where to go with the story seemed to form on their own.
So the power struggle was built into the situation.
David Wiesner
Hes her source of information.
That makes him godlike.
And he certainly promotes that conception.
David Wiesner
This is an abusive relationshipwith analogies to many kinds of real situations in the world.
Neptune, the aquarium owner, tells Mira a lot of stories about mermaids and even sirens.
It came out in 1998.
David Wiesner
I did an enormous amount of reading in classical literature (not modern literature) on mermaids.
So I already had that under my belt.
How would you describe the relationship between Neptune and Mira?NAPOLI:Above I called it abusive.
But I also see him as a pathetic character.
But it doesnt end there because she turned out to be much more complex than a fish.
He is a lonely, sad man.
Mira becomes his world as much as he becomes hers.
She allows him to be proud of himself.
[But] as she changes, the balance of power shifts hideously for him.
It is like losing a daughter [or] being a god and losing all the faithful.
He no longer understands his own place in the world.
But he is an adultand Mira is not.
The responsibility falls on him, no matter how pathetic he may be.
She must leave him to take care of himself.
One of the themes inFish Girlis this blending of fantasy and reality.
We both tried for the most realistic story possible.
Yes, you have to buy into the idea that mermaids exist.
These are things I do in my picture books.
I want to create what feels like a believable world where this amazing thing is happening.
We are not offering escapist literature or some mild fantasy.
But weve extracted away from a particular kind of girl in a particular time.
Dealing with a mermaid allows anyone to imagine the situation and how they would feel.
The sea is so perfect for thisso vast and so unlimited in who inhabits it.
you could see some pages fromFish Girlbelow.
