Jenni Cargill – The Mermaid’s Shoes

The album “The Mermaid’s Shoes & Other Enchanted Tales” by Jenni Cargill.

Jenni Cargill – The Mermaid’s Shoes
Review by Mandy Nolan, Byron Shire Echo; 20 March, 2007

Last night my kids wouldn’t go to sleep….
I had a flash of genius which involved my husband going out to the car.
“Remember the story CD that Jenni Cargill sent me to review? It’s in the car. Go get it. Now!” Five minutes later two children were tucked quietly in their bunks, listening furtively in a darkened room as Ms Cargill’s The Mermaid’s Shoes played.
Ten minutes later they were asleep.
The stories on Jenni’s latest CD are wonderful.
The Mermaid’s Shoes is a story of longing and transformation, about our deep need to attain the unattainable and in the process lose a part of ourselves.
In a story that parallels the Mermaid surrendering her tail for shoes and human legs we are fed a much richer parable: what part of ourselves do we lose when we sacrifice our authenticity for a desire of the ego?
You can’t just teach kids these lessons.
These are deep moral questions that trickle in like honey through the narrative.
Somewhere in your child’s brain is a sophisticated understanding about choice and destiny.
There’s an element of melancholy in some stories, a sweet sadness that draws us in, like in Goldenheart, the story of a depressed father who has been a depressed child.
Somewhere in the story the child manages to unlock the sadness of his father’s heart.
Then there’s my favourite, the classic tale of the Eastern Goat and the Western Goat set in Russia.
On the CD, Jenni’s two children, who she credits with making her a much better storyteller, play the roles of the goats.
It’s adorable.
Jenni has woven her Celtic influenced folk music throughout the recording.
I think you’ll find, like I have, that The Mermaid’s Shoes by Jenni Cargill is a must have for any parent.”