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

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

Graphic Mythical Creatures: Mermaids by Gary Jeffrey (21)

Book Type: Graphic Novel
Author: Gary Jeffrey
Pages: 24

Summary:
A book on the legend of mermaids, and one graphic novel folktale.

My Review:
When I first picked this up from the library, I was really excited, since I have never read a graphic novel before, especially one about mermaids! Sadly though, I was very dissapointed. Although the contents list "The Mermaids Comb" and "Other Mermaid Tales" the book only has one mermaid tale (The Mermaids Comb). The "Other Mermaids Tale" section is about half a page of other folktales that were cut down into summaries! The first part of the book briefly, and I mean very briefly, goes over the mermaid legend, but the information can easily be found in other mermaid books. As for the actual story, the illustrations were interesting, but I found the mermaids tail be rather fat, and less sinous and graceful. I think this book had alot of potential, and could have been really cool if the auhor did more than one story in a graphic novel form. I give this book (**-***) between 2 and 3 stars.
-Sirenita The Selkie

The Little Mermaid by Walt Disney Pictures (20)

Book Type: Children's book
Author: Walt Disney Pictures
Pages: 96

Summary:
A picture book of The Little Mermaid Movie.

My Review:
I have been waiting such a long time to find this book! I knew that there had to be some type of book form for The Little Mermaid movie! I really loved this version that stemmed from the movie. The best part about this book is the beautiful and vibrant pictures. They are absolutely stunning, colorful and look like they just came out of the movie! This book stays pretty true to the storyline, but the only thing that bothered me was that there were a few quotes said by the characters that weren't said in the movie. Overall though, this is a beautiful book and I think anyone will enjoy this. I give this book (*****) 5 stars.
-Sirenita The Selkie

Between The Sea And Sky by Jaclyn Dolamore (19)

Book Type: novel
Author: Jaclyn Dolamore
Pages: 229

Summary(goodreads.com):
For as long as Esmerine can remember, she has longed to join her older sister, Dosinia, as a siren--the highest calling a mermaid can have. When Dosinia runs away to the mainland, Esmerine is sent to retrieve her. Using magic to transform her tail into legs, she makes her way unsteadily to the capital city. There she comes upon a friend she hasn't seen since childhood--a dashing young man named Alander, who belongs to a winged race of people. As Esmerine and Alander band together to search for Dosinia, they rekindle a friendship . . . and ignite the emotions for a love so great, it cannot be bound by sea, land, or air

My Review:
When I first picked up this book, I admit, I was slightly intimidated. I thought the plot would be too complicated or confusing. However, after the first few pages of this book, I fell in love with it! The mermaids in this book were so believably real, and I love how they had their own culture and set of traditions, and were recognized as a race of people even amongst the humans and the Fandarsee, the winged people. I was really connected to Esmerine, who has a love of learning and books, just like me! Readers might not like Alander at first, and might think him snobbish, but he has his reasons. I think my favorite part of this awesome fantasy novel was the multiple settings throughout the storyline. When I read this, I felt like the town of Sormesen was inspired by Venice, Italy and I even imagined some elements of Greek architecture and rural landscapes. Dolamore was really creative and had amazing ideas when writing this beautiful story, full of rich detail and a fantasy plot that wasn't overly complicated. I give this book (*****) 5 stars.
-Sirenita The Selkie

Daughters Of The Sea Trilogy by Kathryn Lasky (16,17,18)

Book Type: Series/ Trilogy
Author: Kathryn Lasky
Pages: Hannah (book 1) 336 pages
May(book 2) 328 pages
Lucy (book 3) 312 pages

Summary of Book One: Hannah:
Hannah is not like other girls in the turn-of-the-century Boston orphanage where she grew up. Instead of seasickness, she gets land sickness. She leaves a ring of salt in the tub when she bathes, and sometimes she sees a faint tracing of scales on her feet. It's freakish, horrifying . . . and deeply thrilling.
Hannah feels a change coming. But she is not the only one who senses it. A young painter recognizes something in Hannah--a connection with the sea that recalls a secret from his own past. A choice lies ahead, and Hannah must discover if she is a creature of the land--or of the sea.

My Review:
Book 1: Hannah
The first book in "Daughters Of The Sea" really sparked my interest in reading this trilogy. Hannah is an orphaned girl with a mysterious past, confused about where she came from and why she is shedding salt out of her skin, and growing scales! What I really like about Hannah is that out of the three sisters, she is curious, kind and motherly, but also strong and determined to understand the sudden changes that are taking over her body. What is ironic, and funny about this first book is that Hannah feels like such a freak, but meanwhile, the house she works in is full of odd people! The romance that occurs this book is very sweet, and the end made me want to pick up the second book! 

Book 2: May
May's life is slightly different compared to Hannah's. May lives as the daughter of a lighthouse keeper, a life that May finds dull "like a winter's morning." May lives with her mother who is a huge hypochondriac, and her father, who has been the only father figure in May's life. May also has a different personality compared to Hannah. May is strong, fierce and quite clever. She loves to read and learn, which is something women were not supposed to do in the mid-late 1800's. She embraces the change inside of her, sometimes shameful that she is not fully human, but returns to her roots, and wants to seek out where her and her sisters came from. A few romances spark up in this book as well. At times, especially towards the middle and ending I felt this book dragged a bit, but we have more insight into Hannah and May's family. 


                                                           Book 3: Lucy
I found this book to be the most interesting one in the series. This book focuses more on how Lucy, the third daughter is caught in an adoptive family who is so focused on status that they will do anything to climb the social latter. This book showed how Lucy, like her other sisters is defiant, bold and tells the outright truth, something that was frowned upon for women in the 1800's. The way that this story is written almost reminds me of "The Great Gatsby," because everyone is just focused on their social stature. It was so interesting to read how Lucy longs to escape the social climbing latter, where people only marry for money and status but not for love. Lucy's romance with Phineas reminds me of my own. My parents were skeptical about my boyfriend because he had piercings, but he is a better boyfriend and best friend than any man with money, which is how Lucy sees her relationship as well. The only thing that irked me a bit about this series was how the sisters know they are mermaids deep down, and how they know they can swim, ect. I wish there was more discovery. The unfortunate part is that this isn't the last book in the series, and I am not sure when the author plans on writing a new book! Stay tuned! So far, I give this series (*****) 5 stars.
-Sirenita The Selkie