While vacationing in Scotland, Zeta encounters a rather unusual fellow. He's a terrific swimmer. He chats with seals. And he has a fishtail. Zeta meets a merman. With his gleaming, silvery scales, Marinus is definitely not you average summer friend. Who else could show Zeta how to swim, take her for a dip with some basking sharks and painlessly teach her everything from astronomy to French? So, while her parents try to figure out why she now refuses to eat mackerel, Zeta has the adventure of her life. And as her summer ends, Zeta knows she'll miss Marinus terribly. Luckily, Marinus has one last surprise in store for Zeta—one that will last a lifetime... With good humor, charm, and a splash of magic, The Merman is the tale of a fantastic friendship by the author of The Gallant Pig, Dick King-Smith.
Author
Dick King-Smith was born and raised in Gloucestershire, England, surrounded by pet animals. After twenty years as a farmer, he turned to teaching and then to writing children's books. Dick writes mostly about animals: farmyard fantasy, as he likes to call it, often about pigs, his special favorites. He enjoys writing for children, meeting the children who read his books, and knowing that they get enjoyment from what he does. Among his well-loved books is Babe, The Gallant Pig, which was recently made into a major motion picture, and was nominated for an Academy Award. Dick lived with his wife in a small 17th-century cottage, about three miles from the house where he was born.
