Personally, I've never really been into mermaids. Especially the typical portrayal we get in cartoons of pretty, empty-headed things that just giggle and flirt with men. What does interest me is the various portrayals of merfolk in folktales. And that's what Claybourne is looking at here. We have friendly, aggressive, and indifferent creatures. Single gender or fully cultured. Even some proto-merfolk like selkies. Each legend gets just a couple of paragraphs but that's enough to see both how the idea of mermaids is cross-cultural and how other cultural elements influence the nature of the legend. This is a great book for any kid with an interest in folk creatures.
More information: The Mermaid Atlas releases June 1.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
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