Third Grade Mermaid, written by Peter Raymundo, reviewed by Katy Golden

Summary: Cora is great at the three “S”s: singing, splashing, and swimming. In fact, she’s so great that she recently made the Siren Singers squad in the place of the glowy, glamorous Vivian Shimmermore! But Cora has one “S” she’s not doing so great at: spelling. When she’s kicked off the swim team for her failure to spell, Cora is frantic to learn the secret. Luckily for Cora, her spelling words seem to start springing up wherever she looks: She comes across a giant shrimp (who quickly becomes a goofy, dog-like pet) in a toxic sludge dump, gets bullied by a predator, and uncovers a nasty secret the Sirens have been keeping to keep themselves looking shimmery while the ecosystem suffers.

Straight Talk for Librarians: Readers will enjoy Cora’s fun personality, the plentiful cartoon illustrations, and even the quirky ocean puns (“not-so-great white sharks” and “shell phones” abound), but the story zigzags confusingly and characters are flat. Plotlines are introduced and then abandoned, and the lessons Cora is ostensibly learning - about friendship and true beauty - miss the mark. If you are in need of transitional chapter books, this fits the bill; otherwise, look elsewhere.