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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
slow-paced
I read this aloud to my mermaid obsessed 9yo daughter. I thought she would adore it, but honestly, it was a little dry. It is definitely field guide-ish, but with too little illustration. The writing was a bit dull. Even I tuned out a few times as an adult. Every mermaid has a list of likes and dislikes, diet choices, and fave music genre. Many of them seemed just reimagined sea animals as mermaids, rather than anything new and exciting. It lacked the immersive feel that you need to make a fantastical guide draw you truly in.
Overall, I see the vision, but don't think it was rounded out effectively.
I received an ARC in exchange for my honest review from NetGalley.
Overall, I see the vision, but don't think it was rounded out effectively.
I received an ARC in exchange for my honest review from NetGalley.
medium-paced
The beginning does loosely read like a field guide or textbook that would be read in a classroom. My gut tells me that young children reading this outside of school may skip over all of that.
Playing into the fantasy of this read, it probably would have been good to include more illustrations / sketches. Especially when not being more descriptive, like for the guide to magical reefs and ponds.
What illustrations there are are fun, and there is an interactive section in the back with quizzes (setup is a bit confusing) and activities the kids can do with adult supervision. As mentioned previously, it would probably be a good/fun activity discussion book for school even though it is based on fantasy/folklore and given plenty of liberties.
eARC courtesy of NetGalley / Running Press / Running Press Kids
Playing into the fantasy of this read, it probably would have been good to include more illustrations / sketches. Especially when not being more descriptive, like for the guide to magical reefs and ponds.
What illustrations there are are fun, and there is an interactive section in the back with quizzes (setup is a bit confusing) and activities the kids can do with adult supervision. As mentioned previously, it would probably be a good/fun activity discussion book for school even though it is based on fantasy/folklore and given plenty of liberties.
eARC courtesy of NetGalley / Running Press / Running Press Kids
adventurous
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
How To Spot A Mermaid is a field guide with tons of cool and interesting information about what goes on beneath the waves. From reefs and ponds, to corals, to fish, sea animals and plants—this book was a plethora of fun.
The cover and the title drew me to this. I'm a big fan of mermaids and folklore surrounding them, and I was pleasantly surprised by all the little details that went into this that captures interest and intrigues readers. It's the little details like what mermaid's use for medicine, what they like to eat, what they use for clothing, decorations, etc. It really makes fantasy seem like reality, or if you're a beliver, it makes it seem that much more believable.
The amount of realistic information woven with fantasy in this is truly amazing. I never would have thought there were so many different types of mermaids, and this goes into great detail about them all, and I lovd that there is an illustration for every single mermaid mentioned. The illustration were cute, and the details that went into each type of mermaids was spectacular! No two mermaids looked alike!
At the end of the book there is a section of activities and quizzes—like finding out what kind of mermaid you would be, recipes, other cool stuff!
The cover and the title drew me to this. I'm a big fan of mermaids and folklore surrounding them, and I was pleasantly surprised by all the little details that went into this that captures interest and intrigues readers. It's the little details like what mermaid's use for medicine, what they like to eat, what they use for clothing, decorations, etc. It really makes fantasy seem like reality, or if you're a beliver, it makes it seem that much more believable.
The amount of realistic information woven with fantasy in this is truly amazing. I never would have thought there were so many different types of mermaids, and this goes into great detail about them all, and I lovd that there is an illustration for every single mermaid mentioned. The illustration were cute, and the details that went into each type of mermaids was spectacular! No two mermaids looked alike!
At the end of the book there is a section of activities and quizzes—like finding out what kind of mermaid you would be, recipes, other cool stuff!
adventurous
funny
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced