But when she arrives home to find a bearded man on
the living room couch reeking of fish, the last thing she expects her mother
to say is, ‘Becky, this is your father.’
Ethel the Unmeasured is a merman who has arrived to take his daughter to the mysterious underwater rite of passage, The Ceremony of the Waves. But, before the ceremony can get underway, he is kidnapped by the duckmoles, A.K.A. a tribe of platypuses who want revenge.
What follows is a warm and hilarious exploration of family, friendship,
bravery, and what it means to be a (mer)man, wonderfully wrapped up in a fast
paced adventure.
While young merman Zim and Becky are busy in the water
trying to save Ethel, her best friend Kiyo has turned detective on land to discover
who set fire to their school. The young people must help the adults look beyond
tradition to imagine what’s possible.
Michael Debenham’s quirky cast of characters are well
written, with clever and believable dialogue. There are the deathly boring
Shellycoats, Ethel, who is both stern and endearing, and new friend Zim, who is
figuring out how to balance merman customs with doing the right thing.
This novel is original and brilliant middle grade writing
and would work well as a class read-aloud or book club pick.
Tail Not Included won the Hardie Grant Ampersand Prize in 2024.
Title: Tail Not Included
Author: Michael Debenham
Publisher: Hardie Grant Children's Publishing, $18.99
Publication Date: 1 September 2026
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781761216794
For ages: 8+
Type: Middle grade
