The Little Mermaid: And Other Fishy Tales

Gr 4–8—Ray retells seven stories in her trademark flowing style ("the truly wonderful thing about a story is that you can change it and make it yours") in this attractive volume. Most of the selections are familiar, originally coming from Japan, Denmark, Germany, East Africa, ancient Greece, and the Orkney Islands, as well as from the Inuit people. All the tales involve some magic: a poor fisherman carried by a turtle to an undersea kingdom to marry the Dragon King's daughter; a young court musician rescued from drowning by a dolphin that is enchanted by his singing; and Raven the Creator, paddling his kayak into the belly of a whale to find the beautiful dancing girl who is the fish's "heart and spirit," among others. A somewhat shortened adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid" has a rewritten ending that significantly weakens its moral, providing the only flaw in this beautifully designed and well-written volume. Several poems by classic writers and an award-winning alliterative poem by a young London poet complete the collection. There is exceptional technical quality and detail in Ray's various-sized graphic scratchboard illustrations and artistic sensibility in their placement throughout the volume. Her choice of colors—bright red, orange, golden yellow, turquoise, and muted shades of green, aquamarine, taupe, and even gray and black—result in a visually stunning book. A listing of the sources for each story and poem is included. A gorgeous collection.—Susan Scheps, formerly at Shaker Public Library, OH