The Dolphin Dream: A QUIX Book

by Debbie Dadey, Fuuji Takashi (Illustrator)

Overview

Aqua Wave the mermaid dreams of riding dolphins in this second book of the Mini Mermaid tales QUIX chapter book series that’s a spinoff of the popular Mermaid Tales series and is perfect for emerging readers.

Aqua Wave wants to ride, play, and dance with her favorite underwater creatures: dolphins! But Morgan, her older sister, isn’t so sure Aqua is ready, especially because Morgan was hurt when she last rode a bottleneck. Will Aqua get her wish or will Morgan’s worrying keep her from her deep-sea dreams?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781534489332
Publisher:	Aladdin
Publication date:	02/06/2024
Series:	Mini Mermaid Tales , #2
Pages:	80
Product dimensions:	5.12(w) x 7.62(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Debbie Dadey is an award-winning children’s book author who has written more than 150 books. She is best known for her series The Adventures of the Bailey School Kids, written with Marcia Thornton Jones. Debbie lives with her husband, her children, and three dogs in Sevierville, Tennessee.

Fuuji Takashi is a children’s book illustrator and character designer from the Philippines. She is best known for illustrating Kailyn Lowry’s first children’s book, Love Is Bubblegum. She is also noted for her works on children’s books featuring diverse characters. Her greatest creative influences are Ghibli and Disney films. In her spare time, she likes singing, cooking, and taking long, peaceful walks.

Read an Excerpt

1 Meet Aqua

 

  Creatures swam by Aqua Wave’s house every day. Once she saw a nurse shark. Another time she saw a giant octopus!

  But today she saw her most favorite creature of all: a dolphin. Aqua loved dolphins. She knew a lot about them. But most of all, she really wanted to ride one. Aqua moved slowly. She didn’t want to scare the dolphin away.

   

  She swam closer and asked, “Can I ride...?”

  Wham! A big sunfish swam into her. Aqua fell back into a group of sea mice.

  She popped away from the mice. She liked their glowing hairs, but not their sharp points. They hurt. “Ouch.”

  The sunfish glared at Aqua and swam away. The sea mice frowned and moved off too.

  “Oh no,” Aqua cried. Now the dolphin was gone. The sunfish had ruined everything. Aqua had missed her chance to ride a dolphin. She closed her eyes and used her imagination.

 

   

 

She was soaring. She leaped out of the water on the back of a dolphin. Wheeeeeeeee... Her heart pounded in excitement. Could such a dream come true?

  Dolphins can swim really fast. Not as fast as a black marlin, but faster than most sharks. Aqua was quick for a young mermaid, but not as speedy as those sea creatures. What would it be like to go so fast?

  “What are you doing?” Her older sister, Shira, swam into their backyard.

  “I’m thinking about riding a dolphin,” Aqua said.

  “No wavy way,” Shira told her. “You might get hurt.”

  “Dolphins are gentle,” Aqua said. She didn’t like it when Shira told her not to do something. It made her want to do it more.

  Shira shook her head. “They are wild. I don’t want you anywhere near one.”

  Aqua had heard lots of stories of mermaids riding dolphins. They were safe. In fact, the next day lots of merkids would be riding on dolphins in their city’s Dolphin Dash. How fun would that be?

  “But you know how much I love them,” she told her sister. It was true. Aqua’s bedroom was filled with dolphin pictures and posters. She even had a full-sized stuffed dolphin she had made from kelp.

  “No buts,” Shira said. “I’m supposed to take you to MerPark.”

  Aqua clapped her hands. Her merfriends would be at the park. Maybe they would also want to ride a dolphin. They could have dolphin races just like in the Dolphin Dash. That would be super amazing.

  “Don’t you have school?” Aqua asked. Shira went to Trident Academy, but Aqua had one more year before she could start there. Now she went to Mini Mermaids and Merboys. It was a school just for seven-year-olds, and Aqua went three days a week. She had made many merfriends and they all had fun together. She’d even learned more dolphin facts. Her teacher said dolphins have two stomachs!

  “Not today,” Shira said. “Maybe some of my merfriends will be at the park.”

  Aqua grinned. If she was lucky enough to see another dolphin, Shira would be too busy to keep an eye on her.

  “Let’s go!” Aqua raced toward the park.