Mermaids and Mermen by Shannon Knudsen

Book Type: Mermaid information
Author: Shannon Knudsen
Pages: 48

Summary(goodreads.com):
The breaking waves glow white in the moonlight as you walk along the beach. Suddenly you hear a voice singing a song. It's as sweet a sound as you have ever heard. You see a strange creature - half woman and half fish - sitting on a rock in the water. She is beautiful, and her voice enchants you. Without thinking, you follow the mermaid's song farther and farther into the dark, cold sea . . . From ancient myths to authors such as Hans Christian Anderson to modern movies, people throughout time have told tales of mermaids and mermen. These magical creatures of the sea are said to tempt sailors to follow them into the ocean, but the sailors drown in the chase. In other stories, humans capture merfolk and force them to live on land, or merfolk take human visitors to their amazing underwater cities. Learn more about these fantastical beings who have captivated us since ancient times.

My Review:
When it comes to books on mermaid legends and information, this book is one of my favorites.  What I really enjoy about this book is that there is no magic nonsense. This book goes in depth with the charms and powers of merfolk, and explores the variety of mermaids around the world. Another part this book covers is the fakes and frauds in the mermaid world, such as the Feejee Mermaid, and Jenny Hanivers. Another section I enjoyed about this book is the mermaids of the modern world, which lists different media in which mermaids are spotted. The book also has a really beautiful design and great pictures. This is not a book that just children will enjoy, but adults as well. I give this book (*****) 5 stars.
-Sirenita The Selkie

The Girl's Guide To Mermaids by Sheri A Johnson

Book Type: Mermaid Encyclopedia/ Children's Encyclopedia
Author: Sheri A Johnson
Pages: 31

Summary(google books):
Are mermaids sweet sea creatures or scary sirens? Here's your chance to read all about mermaid history, real life mermaids, and the mythical merpeople from pop culture. Then you can decide for yourself.

My Review:
I was slightly disappointed with this book. I was expecting a bit more based on the beautiful cover, or to at least learn something new about mermaid folklore. This book is mostly aimed at young girls or children. I was not happy when I saw this book was titled "The Girls Guide" since I believe young boys or men can like mermaids as well. What I didn't like about this book is that it was just too basic. There weren't any facts in here that you couldn't find anywhere else. However, that being said, I did like that this book had some recent stuff about the mermaid world, and mentions topics such as Hannah Fraser, who is a notorious mermaid performer. I also like how at the end of this book there is a chapter about mermaids being in the media. This chapter has books I have reviewed, but the movies in this book are not that great, and only feature mermaids for a brief scene, except Aquamarine, which was mentioned on the list. This book also features what mermaids are thought to be, as well as some popular some popular folk tales such as  Undine. Overall, I give this book between (**-***) 2-3 stars.
-Sirenita The Selkie