The Mermaid Atlas: Merfolk of the World
by Anna Claybourne (Author) Miren Asiain Lora (Illustrator)
The Mermaid Atlas will be your ultimate companion in discovering all your merfolk facts!
All over the world, wherever there's water, there are stories, legends and eyewitness accounts of mermaids. These magical, mesmerizing people of the deep have been well known for thousands of years, and almost every country and culture has a tale to tell about them.
People have written, sung and passed on rumours about mermaids since ancient times, and often reported their own mermaid encounters, too. Do you know the facts and stories surrounding the magical and, often elusive, world of mermaids? This gorgeously illustrated new book includes everything you wanted to know about these mysterious and captivating creatures.
Discover their secrets in this beautiful compendium, written by children's author Anna Claybourne and illustrated throughout by award-winning Spanish illustrator Miren Asiain Lora.
The colorful spreads will take you on an around-the-world journey, starting in Europe and the warm Mediterranean to the icy Baltic, as well as through countless isles, lakes and waterfalls, continuing to Africa with its immense lakes, cave pools and swampy deltas. Asia is the next stop with its thousands of islands, beaches, rivers and lakes while Oceania, surrounded by the Pacific Ocean with its scattered islands, seems to be the perfect environment for these mysterious creatures.
The journey ends with North and South America, where there are sightings of water spirits and fish-tailed ocean goddesses throughout the whole continent, home to the freezing Arctic, the tropical Caribbean as well as the world's largest jungle.
The Mermaid Atlas will introduce you to the merfolk of the world, whether it's the beautiful Selkies of the Scottish seas, the wily Iara of Brazil who love to outwit travelers or the fearful Ningyo of Japan who can give you eternal life.
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School Library Journal
Gr 4-7--The legends of mermaids and mermen can be found in cultures across the world. In this illustrated collection, Claybourne explains parts of their origin stories from Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania. Divided into very short chapters by location, the text includes tales about mermaids like Iara from the Amazon and Nommos, who traveled from space to Mali. There are also descriptions of mermaids like the Lamia from Spain, the man-eating Mondao from Zimbabwe, and the Sinjike from Korea. Some of the mermaids began their lives as humans and moved to the sea or ocean while others started their life in a lake and took on human form to live on land. Some of the mermaids are benevolent; others are quite cruel. Each page contains a few short paragraphs of text, making the book easily digestible for reluctant readers. Lora's illustrations are what make this book stand out from similar offerings. Using soft colors with plenty of blues to reflect the watery homes of these mythical creatures, this title allows readers to be transported into another place and time. VERDICT Though a small volume, this book provides plenty to appreciate for those who want to learn more about such fabled beings.--Elizabeth Kahn, Patrick F. Taylor Science & Technology Academy, Avondale, LA
Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
JNF048020 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Reference | Atlases
