Storytime w/ Airin O'Callaghan

Storytime with Airin O’Callaghan, local illustrator of The Mermaid with No Tail, a storybook celebrating the importance of dreaming big and the power of being different.

Airin O’Callaghan is an illustrator, muralist and educator who mainly draws for children. Having started her career in 2019, she now has worked with some of the biggest publishers in the world including Simon & Schuster, Mac Millan, B&H, Cotton Door Press, and Sourcebooks. In addition to illustrating children’s books, Airin is the proud founder of Mural Wish, a nonprofit that donates murals for critically ill children. Airin lives in the Bay Area, California, where she finds inspiration all around her, in her son and in the beauty nature never fails to show.

About The Mermaid with No Tail:

Paralympic champion swimmer and gold medalist Jessica Long celebrates the importance of dreaming big and the power of being different in The Mermaid with No Tail. As a baby, Jessica was adopted from a Russian orphanage. Her legs were amputated below the knee when she was 18 months old. Despite this, Jessica has become a world-class swimmer and one of the most decorated athletes of all time. 

Dive into this illustrated picture book based on Jessica’s story, where a mermaid with no tail decides she wants to compete in the Mermaid Games. The other mermaids make fun of her for being different. But her adoptive turtle parents are supportive and encouraging, and her shark coach, Phelpsy, teaches her to swim using her arms. The mermaid trains hard, maintains a good attitude, and eventually wins the games.

Free