Julian at the Wedding
£4.50£7.60 (-41%)
The star of Julian Is a Mermaid makes a joyful return – and finds a new friend – at a wedding to be remembered.
Julian and his nana are attending a wedding. Better yet, Julian is in the wedding along with his cousin Marisol. When wedding duties are fulfilled and with a new dog friend in tow, the pair takes off to roam the venue, exploring everywhere from underneath tables to enchanting willow trees to … muddy puddles? After all, it wouldn’t be a wedding without fun, laughter and a little magical mischief. With ingenuity and heart, author-illustrator Jessica Love tells a charming story of friendship, acceptance and celebration.
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Additional information
| Publisher | Walker Books (3 Jun. 2021) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 40 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1406398462 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1406398465 |
| Reading age | 3 – 9 years |
| Dimensions | 25 x 0.5 x 23 cm |
by Strawberry
This is a fun story of friendship and acceptance with some amazing illustrations. ‘Julian at the Wedding’ is a hardback book almost A4 in size but square and is filled with thick matt pages of colourful illustrations and a little text. Julian and his nana are going to a wedding, once there he meets another child called Marisol. Together they play and have fun until Marisol ruins her dress with mud, but it’s okay because Julian has an idea, something magical he’s discoverd in a fairy house.
I really enjoyed the first Julian book ‘Julian is a Mermaid’ and was excited to read the second book in the series hoping it would be as good as the first. In ‘Julian is a Mermaid’, Julian wants to dress up as a mermaid, esentially dressing up like the women he’s seen, and when his nana sees him in his clothes she accepts him and the book has a positive message of acceptance and being happy with who you are. In this second book though it didn’t feel as though the story was so solid and it felt more like a simple fun tale about Julian making friends at a wedding rather than something as powerful as the first.
The story is very short and it’s hard not to give spoilers as it’s such a short tale. When Julian arrives at the wedding he meets the brides, and then spends time having fun with a girl called Marisol. The two laugh and play together with a dog, and then play a little dress up with Julian enjoying the dressing up part, similar to the way he did in the first book. Soon though Marisol gets her dress dirty in the mud and doesn’t know what to do, but Julian has an idea and finds Marisol something new to wear, something based on the magical fairy house (a tree) they were playing in. The story ends well with everyone happy and dancing and eventually the two kids tiring out at all the fun they have at the wedding. While the story is decent it just didn’t feel as special or powerful as the first Julian book did.
The illustrations are amazing, all so detailed and I just love how all the different people look and the expressions of everyone especially Julian and Marisol. The colourful outfits and happy way everyone looks at the wedding make it a beautiful celebration of love and indeed calling a wedding a celebration of love in the book is a great statement to make as this is ultimately what the book is showing. I love how well this is shown and how accepting the whole book and story is of a gay couple, in this case two brides, getting married, and Julian himself being a little different than your usual view of how boys are.
The story of Julian and Marisol and the eventual happy ending was good, and I love how the two kids are seen on the last page exhausted, something I remember being from weddings I went to as a child myself. But despite the really beautiful images, which really do look lovely on the brown background paper, and are truly gorgeous, and the wonderful way that everyone looks, it just didn’t have that beautiful heart-warming ending that I was left feeling when I read ‘Julian is a Mermaid’, and I’m not sure why.
-Thanks to Walker Books for a free copy for review.
by Whispering Stories
‘Julian is a Mermaid’ was a joyous picture book celebrating family, acceptance, difference and imagination.
Its sequel again takes us into Julian’s colourful and creative world as he prepares to go to a wedding. Julian is dressed to impress in purple when he meets Marisol at a wedding of two friends of the family, two brides in white. They both form part of the wedding party. It’s a “party for love'” as the book reminds us.
The two children sneak off, find a ‘fairy house’ and Marisol gets her pretty peach dress muddy. It’s up to Julian to come to the rescue with a bit of flair and imagination. And the wedding gets the better of the two new friends and grandmas and brides dance and revel in company and love.
Hard to finish this without a smile on your face.
I just love young Julian. He knows who he is now, he’s not shy about it, and he’s also becoming a sensitive and caring friend. The grandmas are wonderful women, nurturing and accepting, fun-loving and larger than life, while saying very little. Even the brides have character, their faces are almost photographs, I would imagine they are based on real people. They love is obvious and beautifully captured.
So much is said without it needing to be done explicitly. What is said is sparing but to the point. And the illustrations capture the wonder of childhood, of Julian and Marisol being kids and accepting each other, their creativity, and the lively wedding scenes.
Just lovely. I hope it’s in line for awards as its predecessor was.
For schools, childcare settings and homes, a wonderful lesson for the modern world with a cast children will warm to. For ages 3-8.
With thanks to Walker Books for providing a sample reading copy.
by SB
Bought this book after reading ‘Julian is a mermaid’ I read both to my 6 year old son who loved them!
A powerful message about being who you want to be and being accepted as your true self regardless of stereotypes and an all too judgemental world.
by Strawberry
Julian is back in the second book in his series, the first ‘Julian is a Mermaid‘ I reviewed in June 2018 and was about Julian realising how bright and colourful women’s outfits were and wanting to dress up in a billowing outfit that made him look like a mermaid.
In this story, Julian and his friend Marisol are off to a wedding with their grandparents. After the ceremony, the friends rush off to play, together with the bride’s dog. It isn’t long though before Marisol is covered in dirty all over her pretty peach dress, so Julian offers his shirt for her to wear as a dress.
As with the first book the text is very minimal, just a few words on each double-page. The artwork is lovely and has a pastel look to it, I think the illustrations tell more of the story than the words.
The outfits that the characters wear are truly amazing. I especially love Julian’s shorts suit in lilac. I also love how the story shows two women getting married, this isn’t something you normally see in children’s picture books. Making children understand from a young age that everyone is free to love whoever they like regardless of gender will hopefully make them more accepting as they grow.
Overall, the book is a quick, beautiful read. I still prefer the first book but I did enjoy this one too.
Book Reviewed on Whispering Stories Book Blog
*I received a free copy of this book, which I voluntarily reviewed
by Bexy
Such a special book
by Mrs C
A wonderful story of childhood joy at a wedding of two women. If you liked “Julian is a Mermaid” you’ll enjoy this too
by Nessa
This is just a nice book and what a lovely message
by Tabbie
The illustrations and story were adored by my nephew. I especially love the colours and vibrancy of this book. Eagerly anticipating her next instalment.