Nen and the Lonely Fisherman

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I am a mother to a 15 year old bi-sexual boy and while he has never struggled with his identity, I am sure that many children do, even those who are quite young. Many picture books still only portray 'traditional' relationships, so any story that can help these children see or understand themselves better is OK by me, especially when it is as lovely as this one. This is a three-session spelling seed for the book Nen and the Lonely Fisherman by Ian Eagleton. Below is the coverage from Appendix 1 of the National Curriculum 2014. It’s another Bookwagon day in our house. The kids were so excited to get their latest books in the post. Nen's father Pelagios is furious. He doesn't want his son mixing with the people who were destroying his oceans. He causes a terrible tempest, during which Ernest's little boat is capsized and Ernest falls into the tumultuous waves of the sea.

The collaboration between Ian Eagleton and James Mayhew in Nen and the Lonely Fisherman is the perfect blend of magic. On the surface this is a delightful, hope filled twist on the classic story ‘The Little Mermaid’ yet it’s so much more that that. To truly begin to understand the gravity, strength and bravery of this book I’d very much recommend reading this blog post from illustrator James Mayhew and this post from author Ian Eagleton. Synopsis Like the oceans, this picture book has hidden depths. It is a story about companionship and love - a love that, for many, is forbidden. It is a quiet lament about the how humankind is disregarding the seas. It is a wistful evocation of how life could be if we loved and accepted everyone for who they are instead of through our own misconceptions and judgements. It's a balm for loneliness. I have even talked the head into a little revamp of the library so that we can display them properly!I wrote so many stories about mermaids as a child and often got in trouble for not writing about anything else. I feel that children at every age have a right to see same-sex couples represented in their books in an age-appropriate, positive and celebratory way. So, I wrote this story for the children who never see themselves in fairy tales and for the LGBT+ teenagers, who like me, continue to grow up feeling excluded from the literary space. The best pieces of advice I’ve always been given are from my Mum .She was a primary school teacher too and always helped me and let me chat about my day and what had happened. An adventurous merman and kind fisherman find love and each other in this gorgeous update to the Little Mermaid story. The very lovely Ian, author of Nen and the Lonely Fisherman, kindly answered a few questions I’d got for him. Which three books do you wish your younger self could have read? A modern adaptation of a classic ‘littlemermaid’ tale, Nen and the Lonely Fishermantells the story of a merman’s search for truelove, sending a song of hope across the sea while a lonely, caring young fisherman namedErnest hopes to find warmth in his heart. As the two meet, they feel a special connection,much to the dismay of Nen’s father Pelagioswho creates a wild sea storm to protect hisson and the ocean. Can Nen save Ernest?

There’s a mixture of full spread images both vertically and horizontally as well as storyboard format too. I’m particularly enjoying the font in this book too. The other story fills me with such hope – when a class I had taught found out I was getting married to a man they all cheered and clapped and were so pleased for me. A sense of shame and anxiety should never cloud the way we speak to children – they deserve to hear about our world and the many ways in which we love and live. This is a nice story about lots of things – friendship, love, hope and caring for our world and the people in it. It reminds me of a fairytale but with some modern ideas mixed in.A lovely, gentle story of friendship and love between a merman, Nen, and Ernest, the fisherman of the title, with a conservationist theme rippling throughout. Mayhew's light-dappled, tender illustrations are the perfect foil for Eagleton's quiet, well chosen words.” - The Guardian Today we welcome Clare Campbell, the headteacher at St Charles RC Primary School, to talk about how she has been using NEN AND THE LONELY FISHERMAN in her school!

Having taught in primary schools for 13 years, I can honestly say that this is not the type of thing that children need to be shielded from. Learning about different, diverse relationships and people encourages children to see beyond their own world and gives them the ability to empathise with others. This is such a beautiful love story, a modern-day fairy tale that explores forbidden love, a love that triumphs against all odds, and it depicts how important it is to follow your heart because if you don’t you be lonely and miss meeting your soulmate" @bookb4bedtime One lovely way to explore identity with this book would be through the origin of names. Nen is a name of Egyptian origin that means ancient waters. Nen’s father is Pelagios of Greek origin meaning from the sea and Ernest is of German origin meaning serious and warrior. Names chosen with meaning and purpose by the author. Adaptations abound Andersen's The Little Mermaid but I think that Nen and the Lonely Fisherman is the first book to take the original and cast it as a love story between two men. It does so with warmth, beauty and sensitivity, making it a beautiful tale for readers of all ages.The theme of homosexuality is present, yet in no way forced - quite appropriately normalising same sex relationships. Floss and I popped along to a dreamy bookshop – Kenilworth Bookshop– to buy our copy of Nen and the Lonely Fisherman; it’s so lovely to be returning to bookshops and I’d highly recommend having a gander in your local one when you get the chance! A modern adaptation of a classic ‘little mermaid’ tale, Nen and the Lonely Fisherman tells the story of a merman’s search for true love, sending a song of hope across the sea while a lonely, caring young fisherman named Ernest hopes to find warmth in his heart. As the two meet, they feel a special connection, much to the dismay of Nen’s father Pelagios who creates a wild sea storm to protect his son and the ocean. Can Nen save Ernest?