In my new picture book, Alpaca Wants To Be A Mermaid, a determined Al Paca has seen mermaids on TV, and can’t imagine a more blissful life. Frolicking in the ocean, adorned with shiny scales and a long, shimmering tale is something every toddler—I mean alpaca—dreams of.

 

And he has a plan for that: Al Paca’s How To Be A Mermaid Plan, encompasses practical considerations such as growing a long tail, learning to swim, making scales, and finding an ocean. You know, mermaid stuff.

 

Too bad that no one believes in him. Hen, Pig and Goat think he’s cray-cray. Cow sort of gets him, because he thinks—for just a moment—that being a bunny would be also really cool (a hint of the surprise ending).

 

When Al Paca finally finds a mermaid in the farm’s pond, he finally sees what others do: a silly alpaca who can never be a mermaid.