Monday, September 23, 2013

The Little Mermaid adapted by Anthea Bell and Illustrations by Chihiro iwasaki

Book Type: Children's Book
Author: Hans Christian Anderson adapted by Anthea Bell
Pages: 33

Summary(amazon.com):

A little sea princess, longing to be human, trades her mermaid's tail for legs, hoping to win a prince's love and earn an immortal soul for herself.

My Review:
It is a beautiful idea that so many people are reviving the classic story of "The Little Mermaid" by Hans Christian Anderson. However, I don't see much spark in this particular version. The story says it was "adapted" but it was very similar to the original text, which for me, can get a bit boring after reading the same story after a while. I also thought the illustrations were a bit bland. For a children's story, especially one so filled with magic and love should be a bit brighter and enticing, but they did fall a bit flat for me. Perhaps I just dont find water color art interesting. Overall, I give this book (***) 3 stars.
                                                               -Sirenita The Selkie

Sunday, September 8, 2013

The Tail Of Emily Windsnap Series By Liz Kessler


The most recent
Emily Windsnap book


Book Type: Novel
Author: Liz Kessler
Pages In First Book: 209

Summary Of First Book (goodreads.com):
For as long as she can remember, twelve-year-old Emily Windsnap has lived on a boat. And, oddly enough, for just as long, her mother has seemed anxious to keep her away from the water. But when Mom finally agrees to let her take swimming lessons, Emily makes a startling discovery - about her own identity, the mysterious father she's never met, and the thrilling possibilities and perils shimmering deep below the water's surface. With a sure sense of suspense and richly imaginative details, first-time author Liz Kessler lures us into a glorious undersea world where mermaids study shipwrecks at school and Neptune rules with an iron trident - an enchanting fantasy about family secrets, loyal friendship, and the convention-defying power of love

My Review:
I absolutely adore this series. I believe the first book came out when I was about twelve years old, so naturally I found myself connecting with the main character, Emily Windsnap. What first gravitated me to read these books was the spectacular and whimsical book covers. However, deep within the sea of pages, the way Kessler crafted her words and thoughts were just as whimsical. I guarantee, that the moment you get through the first pages of the first Emily Windsnap book, you will truly fall under this mermaids spell. As the series continues, the story grows and becomes even more exciting. Emily Windsnap is definitely a series you want to read if you love mermaids as much as I do. By the way, don't listen to what other pages say about the age level. I find this book to be totally suitable to any age group. The books are also around 200 pages, but anyone who loves mermaids or loves to read can fly through this easily. I give this series (*****) 5 stars.
PS: The Other books in the series are:
Book 2) Emily Windsnap and the Monster From The Deep
Book 3) Emily Windsnap And The Castle In The Mist
Book 4) Emily Windsnap and the Siren's Secret
Book 5) Emily WIndsnap and the Land Of The Midnight Sun

-Sirenita The Selkie

End Of Mermaid Summer Reading Challenge

Hi Merfolk!
By John Waterhouse
Sorry this post is a little late. School and work have me swimming all over! The official ending of the summer reading challenge was August 26th, the day school started for me. This year I was able to read 27 books! Not too bad! In addition, I also started a few series, but I didn't want to post a blog post without finishing them. Its actually been really hard to get the books in these series! The series include:

1) The Watersong Series,  3 out of 4 books

2) Tempest Trilogy,  2 out of 3 books

3) Of Poseidon Trilogy, 1 out of 2 books

I hope to finish these series soon!
Keep on reading merfolk!
Remember to post how many mer-books you read this summer in the comment section below! :)
-Sirenita The Selkie