When I was a young girl I was obsessed with mermaids. For years Disney’s Ariel was my favorite princess and I would swim in my family’s pool and pretend to be her complete with the dramatic hair flip upon breaking the water’s surface. I also had some mermaid dolls that I spent hours playing with in large tubs of water with my friends. I simply couldn’t imagine anything more magical than having a tail and making sea animal friends.
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Now that I have a daughter of my own I am beyond thrilled to see that my daughter is just as enchanted with mermaids as I was and that they are currently back in popularity. This means that I can search for and indulge in mermaid clothing, books and toys to my heart’s content and enjoy them a second time through and with my daughter.
Even though mermaids seem to be making a comeback, adorable mermaid books that I love were surprisingly difficult for me to find. However, the ones that I did find are ones that I adore and heartily recommend. I listed them for you below and hope that you and your mermaid fans enjoy them as well.
“Mermaid School”by Joanne Stewart Wetzel and Julianna Swaney- If you are looking for a mermaid book packed with charming mermaids and lots of mermaid imagination, this is the book for you! It shares what mermaid school might look like if it existed and is SUPER darling.
“Pearl”by Molly Idle- I LOVE this book! It is visually stunning and richly executed. It is a story about a little mermaid who learns a lesson on what true value is along with patience and persistence. I really think this one is quite the masterpiece.
Disney’s “The Little Mermaid: The Story of Ariel” by Disney Book Group and Disney Storybook Art Team- I can’t do a mermaid book list without sharing a book featuring my daughter’s favorite mermaid and one of my favorite Disney princesses. The books about Ariel that we have are older and it looks like they are out of print, but I found this one on Amazon and it looks wonderful. Really, any Disney book about Ariel is sure to please fans of this red-headed mermaid.
“Deep Underwater” by Irene Luxbacher- This is a richly illustrated and written story about a young girl who imagines what it might be like to swim to the depths of the ocean and even be a mermaid. It has a much more serious, sophisticated and even heavy feel to it and is absolutely beautiful.
“The Mermaid” by Jan Brett- In true Jan Brett fashion this book is stunning! It is an aquatic retelling of Goldilocks and the Three Little Bears done mermaid style and is so much fun for little mermaid fans.
“The Mermaid’s Shoes” by Sanne Te Loo- In this story a little girl has a wonderful time at the beach, but when she goes home she can’t get the beach and mermaids off her mind. Using some flippers she creates her own mermaid tail and finds a way to make her mermaid dreams come true. I LOVE this one!
“Mermaid Dreams” by Kate Pugsley- In this fun mermaid tale a little girl goes to the beach with her parents and pretends that she is a mermaid. In so doing she even makes a new friend who happens to love to pretend to be a mermaid too. So sweet and so well done.
“Mermaids Fast Asleep” by Robin Riding and Joe Perisco- This vibrant bedtime story shares the wistful imaginings of children pretending what bedtime for mermaids under the ocean might be like. Each page spread features the cutest mermaids and we love it.
“Merbaby’s Lullaby” by Jane Yolen and Elizabeth O. Dulemba- This soothing and beautiful board book is a mermaids lullaby to her merbaby. The text is wonderfully lyrical and the illustrations are lovely.
“My Magical Mermaid” by Yujin Shin- This board book is sparkly, bold and has fun interactive/moving features. It is perfect for the littlest of mermaid fans!
“Three Little Mermaids” by Mara Van Fleet- This cute, counting primer board book features a mermaid tea party wit mermaids and all their sea creature friends. It is adorable and has some fun interactive features like tabs to pull as well as some shiny, shimmering accents.
Teeny-Tiny Mermaid by Brick Puffinton and Joanie Stone- This is hands-down one of the cutest, tiny, finger puppet board books that I have ever seen. It even includes a tiny story with an adorable little surprise at the end. Plus, its worth mentioning that the finger puppet mermaid tail is shiny.
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Sabioandmom says
Wow, they are so beautiful. My son are a big fans of mermaid, too! He’d love to read those books. Thank you!
Nell says
Love so many of these! Two other very special ones are Part-time Mermaid by Deborah Underwood and Remarkables by Lisa Mantchev (ill by David Litchfield—sonpretty!)