Senior Book Jacket: A Senior Narrative Book Jacket by Morgan McLain-Smith (2015)

Elena's mother tries to read her the tale of the Little Mermaid, but an interruption by Elena's older sister Sophia throws the story wildly off track. Mother and daughter struggle for control of the story and Elena's attention. Finally, their mother finishes Sophia's version of the story, demonstrating her new found understanding of her older daughter and her desire to fix their tense relationship.

The front of the book jacket depicts a tail swimming across a page. This represents not only the story of the Little Mermaid, but also the idea of escaping the traditional narrative. Without the top half visible, whether the tail is that of a mermaid or a fish is ambiguous. This captures the key conflict of the story– what is the relationship between fairy tale and reality?