Diving into Ingo

From the moment I picked up the book 'Ingo' by Helen Dunmore, it pulled me in, just like Sapphire and Connor are pulled like a magnet to the undersea world of Ingo where time flows as quickly as the currents that surround them.

There is something irresistible about old legends and the way they still resonate in our contemporary world. The legend of the merrymaid (or mermaid) of Zennor is a compelling one. Dunmore uses the legend to highlight the complex relationship between 11 year old Sapphire and her older brother, between her and her mother, and her feelings for her father whose mysterious disappearance holds so many similarities to that of the Matthew Trewhella of the legend and this provides depth to what might otherwise be a simple tale of adventure and fantasy.

Read it for yourself and then pass it to your children!

And, if the pull of the ocean is really strong, you might also like other stories about Cornwall - the beautifully illustrated 'The Mousehole Cat', the equally beautiful 'Can You Catch a Mermaid?' by the talented Jane Ray and 'The Merrymaid of Zennor' written by the late Charles Causley and illustrated in inimitable style by Michael Foreman or another recent mermaid tale 'The Tail of Emily Windsnap' by Liz Kessler.

On into the briny deep we go!