Retishella and Pirate Cool
"Ghastly pulled him around to look him square in the
face. “So, boy, tell me where you found this thing,” he
leant close to Cool and shoved the comb before his eyes.
“I found it on the beach,” answered Cool, “This morning
out in the bay by the seaweed-covered rock.”
When Retishella mermaid loses her comb it seems like
the end of the world. She is banished from her family and
friends until she finds it again.
She discovers it has been picked up by a press-ganged
pirate boy called Coolihan Barrat, known as Cool. He is
desperate to escape the harsh pirate life dominated by
Captain Jellycoe Jack and his single-minded mission to
find treasure, no matter what the cost.
Cool befriends Retishella, but when pirate Garston
'Ghastly' Bones gets hold of Retishella's comb and
refuses to return it, Retishella finds herself rubbing up
against the dreaded Cheerless Witch.
Retishella and Pirate Cool is the fourth of Retishella's
adventures which began with Retishella and the
Dolphins, Retishella and the Pocket Shell and Seeley
and the Grantuff.Front cover illustration
by Nicola Porter
The Story Behind This Book
This story sees Retishella mermaid meet Pirate Cool. I wanted to be able to make some direct comparisons between the mermaid world and the world of humans. And I wanted to explore ideas of understanding and tolerance across boundaries - or not, as the case may be!