Little Mermaid

ANNOTATION

A little sea princess, longing to be human, trades her mermaid's tail for legs, hoping to win the love of a prince and earn an immortal soul for herself.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Once there was a little mermaid who fell in love with a human boy .. . The story may be familiar, but Lisbeth Zwerger's art makes this fairytale seem brand-new. This Jubilee edition, celebrating 200 years of Hans Christian Andersen, is superbly illustrated in Zwerger's signature style. Known for her popular and award-winning editions of classics such as The Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland, Zwerger is herself the recipient of the Hans Christian Andersen Medal for lasting contributions to children's literature. The Little Mermaid is sure to win her new fans, and to delight her old ones. The text is an all-new translation by Anthea Bell, and includes many lovely and poignant details that may be new to even those who think they know the little mermaid's story well.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Isadora's (Isadora Dances) haunting retelling of this classic tale leaves Disney's cotton-candy version far behind. Hewing faithfully to the darker themes of Andersen's original, Isadora relates the bittersweet story of the little mermaid who falls in love with a human prince and finds her love unrequited. Doomed by the sea witch's nefarious contract to become sea foam, the mermaid rejects the villainess's offer to save herself by murdering the prince, and instead martyrs herself for love. It's a fey, powerfully moving tale, exquisitely illustrated. While the text spools out against squares of sea-washed greens and grays, Isadora's ethereal watercolor portraits register a wide range of emotions, from the sweet innocence of the mermaid's yearning captured in a face tilted toward the water's surface, to the eerie image of her five sisters floating on a moonlit sea, offering up a knife to slay the prince. Isadora displays a dramatist's sense of lighting, endowing many scenes with the visual presence of a stage play. The sea-witch, for instance, is doubly frightening by virtue of her face being illuminated as if by footlights, casting cruel shadows and highlights across her leering visage. Isadora's superb artistic efforts outshine the somewhat pedestrian retelling, however, which lacks the emotional resonance of the illustrations. Ages 4-8. (May)

Publishers Weekly

As she has with previous interpretations of classics, Zwerger (Alice in Wonderland) works from Bell's faithful translation of Andersen's text, with no happily ever after. Here the mermaid must watch her beloved prince marry another, knowing that she herself will die the following day. Zwerger's exquisite watercolors bring to life the mermaid's world. At a window in the castle of her father, the sea king, the mermaid gazes out into the blue-green distance, wondering what life above must be like; while fish dart in and out, she pets one absently. Watery meadows of jade and turquoise suggest empty silence and foreshadow the mermaid's sacrifice to the sea witch in exchange for a human form, the heroine must trade her voice, "a lovelier voice than anyone on earth or in the sea." Zwerger represents the mermaid's shunning of her undersea home with a depiction of her overgrown garden, once the heroine's pride and joy. Other memorable scenes, framed in a white border, depict the mermaid towing the prince to shore after a shipwreck and, later, as dawn breaks on the day she is to turn to sea foam, the mermaid looks resolute, clothed in a glorious golden gown that resembles fish scales. Zwerger's parting scene, an aerial view of the prince's ship sailing away, amplifies the bittersweet yet redemptive conclusion, in which the little mermaid, now a "child of the air," may earn an immortal soul. The illustrations may well provide endless hours of reverie. Ages 4-8. (Sept.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature - Amie Rose Rotruck

Until Disney got ahold of the story, countless generations were enthralled by Hans Christian Anderson's classic tale of the little mermaid. Now today's children have a chance to read the original tale accompanied by Zwerger's enchanting illustrations. The little mermaid has a privileged life in her father's palace under the sea, but she yearns for life above the water. After saving the life of a human prince, she is determined to find a way to live on the surface. She sacrifices her voice to the sea witch, only to be abandoned by the prince when he finds true love. The mermaid has one chance to live: by killing the prince. She refuses and dies, but is granted the chance to earn an immortal soul. Even if you already own a copy of this timeless classic, Zwerger's version is still worth buying. Her misty illustrations make what is (for today's children) a rather advanced text much more intriguing. On most pages, a sentence that describes the illustration is highlighted in a different color. If you know a child who has only ever known the Disney version, give them this book at once! 2004, Penguin, Ages 5 up.

Children's Literature - Eileen Hanning

This pretty little book contains a traditional rendition of Andersen's tale. In the original story, the little mermaid wants to marry the prince to gain an immortal soul. When the little mermaid trades her voice for legs, the prince befriends her but marries someone else. The ending isn't as happy as the Disney version, but it is certainly nobler and thought provoking. Feminist readers may wince at language such as ". . . but everyone knows you have to suffer if you want to look nice . . ." and at the little mermaid's need for the prince's love to earn her immortal soul, but they should read on. In the end, the little mermaid is her own heroine, both saving the prince and winning the opportunity to earn a soul by herself. The language stays true to the oral origins of Andersen's work resulting in a great tale but challenging and sometimes archaic syntax and vocabulary. Even experienced young readers may need a little help with words such as sulphur, unfurled, and tempestuous. While sophisticated word choices and nearly fifty pages of text may discourage younger readers from reading it alone, this story truly shines when read aloud. Illustrations were done by a variety of Disney artists during the early conceptual phases of their production of The Little Mermaid and provide a fascinating glimpse at other ways Ariel and her story might have been depicted by Disney.

Children's Literature - Emily Ferren