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It isn’t often that a seven-year-old little girl pens a modern-day fairy tale, but Della Mitchell, the author of the acclaimed new picture book, Della and Lila Meet the Monongahela Mermaid, has been telling stories since she first began to talk.

Della Mitchell's Book

Highlighting a vivid imagination and a whole lot of love, this vibrantly illustrated story reveals how Della and her little sister Lila meet Marina, the Monongahela Mermaid, while playing along the banks of the river at their grandparents’ home one day.

With a sparkly rainbow fin and river grass braided through her hair, Marina is a dream come true, but the delight the two sisters feel is soon tempered by their discovery that it’s actually very hard to be a mermaid. As Marina relays, “Humans throw litter in the river! My friends and I work hard to try and keep the water clean. But, we can’t keep up.”

As soon as she hears this, Della embarks on a mission to explain to everyone that pollution is very bad! She and Lila make signs, visit their neighbors, enlist the aid of family and friends, set up an information booth at the town fair, and even write a letter to the president of the United States.

Exploring the themes of nature, conservation, family, and community service, the book contains a map and key, facts about the Monongahela River, and even introduces beginning concepts of biology, geography, and environmental science.

This first in a series of children’s picture books written by Della, with a little bit of assistance from her mom Brianne, reveals the good that can come when a heart full of love unites with a determined spirit.

Mother Brianne Mitchell comments, “We hope Della’s tale will inspire other children and adults to be kind to each other, to respect nature, and to come up with their own stories to tell.”

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