The Little Mermaid/la Sirenita FROM THE PUBLISHER
Retold in both Spanish and English, the universally loved story The Little Mermaid will delight a new generation of readers. The striking illustrations give a new look to this classic tale, and the bilingual text makes it perfect for both home and classroom libraries.
FROM THE CRITICS
School Library Journal
Gr 1-3-Two retellings of classic fairy tales. The Sleeping Beauty is a bit problematic. Desclot's text is modernized but not without charm. "Hey! I'm still here!" ("aEh, falto yo!") the youngest fairy avers, jumping out from behind the arras, as it were, once the evil witch leaves. The colored-pencil cartoon illustrations are somewhat disconcerting. Pointy-nosed, big-eyed people surround a baby princess who looks bizarrely insectoid-sort of like a bee larva. Regardless, the jazzed-up retelling has its own quirky appeal. Izquierdo's adaptation of The Little Mermaid, though shortened considerably from Hans Christian Andersen's tale, is true to the original. While the abridgment does have the effect of hurrying readers through the story, the lineaments are there, and the tightening up does make the tale accessible to younger readers. The acrylic cartoon illustrations in blues, greens, and browns are arresting in their use of heavy black sweeping lines and broad washes of clear color. However, the last picture of the Mermaid's sisters, sans their long hair, may leave readers confused. Why the haircuts? The text never explains. The Spanish translation mirrors the English almost exactly in its stately formality. This is a welcome relief from the tired Disney version with all those singing crustaceans, and maintains the yearning and melancholy of Andersen's vision. While numerous versions of either story with more classic illustrations are available, Spanish-language versions are more difficult to find. These two thus fill a niche. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
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