You are cordially invited to

celebrate and read

by

Coming October 2020

Candlewick Press
The star of Julián Is a Mermaid makes a
joyful return—and finds a new friend—
at a wedding to be remembered.

On sale October 6, 2020

HC: 978-1-5362-1238-9 • $16.99 ($22.99 CAN)
JuLIán at thE wEdding
by

Julián and his abuela are going to a wedding. Better yet,

Julián is in the wedding. Weddings have flowers and
kissing and dancing and cake. And this wedding also has a
new friend named Marisol.

It’s not long before Julián and Marisol set off for some
magic and mischief of their own, and when things take
an unexpected turn, the pair learns that everything is easier
with a good friend by your side. Jessica Love returns with a
joyful story of friendship and individuality in this radiant
follow-up to Julián Is a Mermaid.
A ConvErsation with
Why did you decide to return to Julián’s world rather than create and
explore a new one?

My editor told me to! I’m joking. I mean, initially I was reluctant to do a

sequel, because I was really nervous about spoiling a good thing with an
unnecessary addendum. But as I did readings in schools and libraries, I
met so many people who saw themselves in the story and asked when I
was going to make another story about Julián and his abuela. I started to
relax into the idea that people might actually want another book. Once
it became about making the book for those people who wanted it, it
became much easier for me.

Was there a wedding you attended that inspired the setting? Tell us
more about your decision to set the story at a wedding.

There were several. I had a pretty good run as a flower girl back in
the eighties. My greatest triumph, however, was at a wedding in New
York City: It was the first time I’d been to New York. I was about six
or seven, and it was for my uncle Michael’s wedding to his
girlfriend. I worshipped both of them. The wedding
was somewhere along the banks of the Hudson
River. After the ceremony, the ring bearer and
I were down by the bank of the river, and I was
showing off, leaping from boulder to boulder.
I slipped and fell in. I was soaked! I destroyed
my dress (some beautiful antique lacy
number) and was completely shaken. But
my parents took me to a souvenir stand and
bought me an extra-large tie-dyed “I ♥ NY”
T-shirt, which ended up being my outfit for
the rest of the wedding. I loved it. I thought
it was so completely awesome.
The moment when Marisol’s abuela presents her with the baseball cap
is such a great parallel to the moment in Julián Is a Mermaid when
Julián’s abuela presents him with a beaded necklace. Are there other
connections between the books?

I think of the two books as different verses of the

same song, and that moment of handing over a
talismanic object is the chorus. We ask children
to perform their genders in different ways, and
just as Julián’s nature is larger than the role
society would ask him to play, Marisol’s nature
doesn’t fit inside her dress. Because this is an
experience Julián understands, he is able to use
his empathy and creativity to help his friend
move from shame into joy. They are both stories
about finding a way of being at home in yourself,
then finding the courage to share that self with the world.

What part of this story did you enjoy illustrating the most?

This book ended up being rather more elaborate than Julián Is a

Mermaid. There were a lot of really lacy details and patterns, and I found
that to be fun but not as essentially compelling as drawing moments
between people. My favorite thing to draw is the stuff that’s most like
acting: specific, nuanced emotional exchanges between characters.

The expressions that you convey on the characters’ faces throughout

the story are incredible. How do you manage to capture emotions so
clearly? Do you ever use photos or models?

Thank you. I think this is what I’m best at. I don’t use models or photos;
it’s more like I’m acting out each part, but I’m drawing the performance
instead of acting it. Actually, I think I am acting it out as I draw, feeling
the way the character would stand, where in their body shame lives,
where joy lives, what they hope for secretly . . . These are the things I’m
consciously thinking about, and then I’m often able to draw what it feels
like.
The flowers and nature illustrated against the backdrop of New York
City are gorgeous. Were there specific plants or flowers you drew
inspiration from?

Yes, I am a devout nature-worshipper from way back. I grew up in a

cabin in a national forest in California, and to me the natural world is
the original source of beauty. In this book there are tributes to a weeping
willow (classic stunner, obviously) and an American beech (beech trees
are organized into families, and they share nutrients with one another!).
The wedding flowers are nasturtiums and bougainvillea (both tributes
to my California roots), and there are dayflowers, clover, knotgrass, and
poppies in the meadow (poppies are my favorite flower). Lastly, one
of the brides’ hair is filled with my favorite wildflowers: sweet peas,
clematis, lilies of the valley, and mariposa lilies.

Are there any Easter eggs that lovers of the first book will notice in the
second? Julián’s abuela’s dress pattern brings another outfit to mind . . .

There are many subtle details that probably won’t get noticed at first.
My personal favorite is on a spread where Julián and Marisol are under
a table. You can see Abuela’s feet, and she is slipping off her high heels.
Because that’s what you do with high heels: you wear them for ten
minutes, then you dance barefoot!

What do you hope readers will take away from Julián at the Wedding?

It was my hope to bottle the feeling of being a child at an adult party.

When you’re little, there is something really amazing about seeing
adults playing dress-up and dancing, because what they’re doing is
playing, really. Mostly you just see adults working, accomplishing, and
enforcing, and you rarely get to see grown-ups at play. To have those
rules suspended and to see the child within the adult is a really magical
experience when you are little. It’s also a story about making a friend
by sharing a feeling of complicité, about connecting in a moment
of vulnerability. It is a story about the power of dress-up, and it’s a
celebration of nature, love, and, of course, dancing. I suppose my hope
for the book is a simple one: that it will make people happy.
About
Jessica Love is an actor and the author-
illustrator of Julián Is a Mermaid.
She has a BA in studio art from the
University of California, Santa Cruz, as
well as a graduate degree from Juilliard.
She has appeared in plays both on
and off Broadway. Jessica Love lives in
Brooklyn.
 Celebrating Julián Is a Mermaid

HC: 978-0-7636-9045-8 • $16.99 ($22.99 CAN) • Ages 4–8 • 40 pages

Also available as an e-book

• WINNER OF A STONEWALL BOOK AWARD

• WINNER OF AN EZRA JACK KEATS NEW ILLUSTRATOR HONOR

• WINNER OF A BOLOGNA RAGAZZI OPERA PRIMA AWARD

FOR DEBUT AUTHORS AND ILLUSTRATORS

• A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

NOTABLE CHILDREN’S BOOK OF THE YEAR

• AN AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION

RAINBOW LIST SELECTION

• A TIME MAGAZINE TOP TEN CHILDREN’S BOOK OF THE YEAR

★“This charmingly subversive tale . . . offers a simple yet
powerful story of the importance of being seen and
affirmed.”
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

★“Luminous. . . . Encouraging and empowering.”

—Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)

★“Love’s deep empathy for her characters and her keen-

eyed observations of urban life come together in a story
of love, understanding, and embracing the mermaid
within us all.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

★“Julián’s emotional journey takes on depth through the

small but important details: a wary look in the mirror, a
slight inward slump of the shoulders, a chin held high
while marching down the street. Love uses vibrant
watercolors with gouache and ink and a lively style to
create scenes that splash and swirl to life on the page.”
—The Horn Book (starred review)

★“Across her watercolor, gouache, and ink spreads, Love

captures the transformative power of being seen. Her
affecting combination of the literary and the visual
results in a powerful affirmation of individuality,
creative expression, and unconditional acceptance.”
—Shelf Awareness for Readers (starred review)

★“Love couples the spare narrative with vivid,

imaginative, and breathtaking illustrations. A
heartwarming must-have for one-on-one and small
group sharing.”
—School Library Journal (starred review)
“One of the best picture books I’ve
read in this century.”
—Jason Reynolds, National Ambassador for
Young People’s Literature

“This is Jessica Love’s debut picture book, and every choice

she makes—the spare text, a color palette both muted
and lively, full-bleed pages that make even subway cars
and apartment rooms feel as expansive as the ocean—
imbues the story with charm, tenderness, and humor. In
the joyous conclusion, the pair make their way to a
mermaid parade (an annual event at Coney Island in
Brooklyn) and join the spectacle. The final illustration
shows the abuelas from the first spread, transformed into
mermaids. Alongside Julián, readers learn that anyone
can be a mermaid: all it takes is love and acceptance, a
little imagination, and a big swishy tail.”
—New York Times Book Review
“A delightful story of celebrating what makes us unique.”
—Time Magazine

“This beautiful book is one of the very few picture books

about a gender non-conforming child. Yet it feels like
a celebration of all children who want to do things
differently than the parental figures in their lives—and
a love letter to the grown-ups who deeply understand
them.” —Gothamist

“When Julián spies some fabulously dressed mermaids on

the subway, he declares he is one, too, and his loving
abuela completely understands.”
—People Magazine

“This story, written and illustrated by Jessica Love, glows

with warmth and acceptance, and is a favorite read
before bed.” —NPR

“Love’s painted scenes glow against muted backgrounds,

with saturated, opaque tones tracing the graceful shapes
of the figures. They’re especially striking when Julián gets
swept away in a vivid underwater fantasy: a school of
sea creatures whirls around him as he transforms into a
mermaid. That scene is nicely replicated when he arrives
at the parade, which is populated by scores of people in
a wide variety of inventive costumes. The affectionate
depiction of a broad range of body types and skin tones
makes this particularly cheery.” —Booklist
 WEdding SchEdulE
• Author tour • National publicity


campaign
• National consumer

advertising • Blogger outreach

• Trade, school, and library • Designed activity kit


advertising
• Featured title at

librarian preview

• Featured in Candlewick

CIRC and Candlewick
Classroom e-newsletters

• Social media campaign

• Online giveaways
Illustrations © 2020 by Jessica Love