Mermaid Tales from Around the World

by Mary Pope Osborne and Paul Werstine

Book Overview

Enchanting tales of sea nymphs from 12 cultures, including Chinese, Iranian, African, and Native American, are eloquently retold in this acclaimed collection. Full color. An American Bookseller Pick... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0439047811
• ISBN13: 9780439047814
• Release Date: January 1999
• Publisher: Scholastic
• Length: 84 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 8.1" x 10.8"
• Age Range: 7 to 11 years
• Grade Range: Grades 2 to 6

Customer Reviews

Unsuitable For Online Purchase

This book was in such poor condition that it shouldn't have ever been listed for purchase. The front cover was held on by a single strip of what looks to be packing tape. I tried to request a return, only to be told it didn't qualify! What a horrible deal.

An incredible book for all mermaid lovers

i'm 15 years old and have always loved mermaids. My favorite movie is Disney's The Little Mermaid, and i am always interested in any books i come across about them. i came across this book in 6th grade. it was my teacher's book, but i stole it for the entire year! i read it over and over again, i was mesmerized by the stories and pictures. most of the stories i havnt even heard before. i was so sad when i had to give it back, but just now, 3 years later, i found it on this website! i ordered it right away and couldn't be happier. i reccomend this book to anyone that has a facsination with mermaids. this book is truly wonderful.

Excellent stories and illustrations

This book is wonderful for all ages. It includes stories from all over the world, not just Europe. The illustrations are excpetional, with the artist emulating the style of whatever area of the world the story is from, resulting in a genuine feel. The stories are told well, and the book is large enough to be able to show the pictures to a story-time group if desired. I am an adult, yet I found the stories to be interesting and though not dumbed down, accessible to almost all age groups.

An Incredible Book! An Exellent read for mermaid fans!

My name is Shell and I am 11 years old and I loved this book, its pictures are astonishing with its beautiful colors. One of my favorites is The Nastasia of the Sea, always testing the boy of his loyalty for her. This also contains a very well known classic, The Little Mermaid, by Hans Chistian Anderson. I have read its stories for hundreds of times always wanting to read it again and again, I'd read one story, then I'd have to finish the whole book! I have rented this book many times hoping to find it in a store to buy, but never found it, now I have purchased it, it like a dream come true! Or at least it's an early Christmas present. This book is very extrodinary and not like any other, it kind of gives you a bit of the culture where it came from, as its stories is set in the same mood as all the stories from the cultures. The pictures are like all the other pictures from the cultures too. Such as the picture of Menona of the Waterfall which is Indian its picture looks as if an Indian artist painted it.The whole book is finely illustrated and well told too. It's a very good book and I sure mermaid fans would love it.

The illustrator is incredible!

My name is Janna, and I'm 12 years old. This book was great! If the illustrations hadn't been so great, I would have given it a 3, though. The illustrations are what makes it so great. The illustrator studied how different cultures paint or draw. Then he'd make the illustrations fit the place where the story came from. Troy Howell is amazing!

A beautiful book, for all ages

I live on an island. Therefore, water plays a large part in my life - its the only way that I can get to the rest of my country. And, an offshoot of that is that I feel very connected with water life - including mermaids. So, when finding this book, call Mermaid Tales from Around the World, I decided to check it out. Superficially, its kinda short - only 10-12 stories, And its printed in a largish print. So that way its easy to read. But, deeper into the book, the illustrations are wonderful - there is one for each story. And each is different. Ok, yeah, you say - of course they have different illustrations for different stories. But its more than that. Each is done in a different style - down to the signature. They are based on the culture that the story comes from. Instead of americanizing the pictures, Howell has reasearched the particular culture of the tale, and has imitated it. The result is fantastic. The stories them selves are wonderful. You have, of course, the Little Mermaid. And then, theres the Native Canadian story, and the Japanese tale. The stories all show the different cultures, and their view of what a mermaid is. And each view differs. To say the least, I enjoyed this book. It gave a view of what a mermaid is to several cultures, plus had spectacular illustrations. Check it out!!!