I absolutely love this book and it would be a great addition for my classroom collection. Beautiful illustrations and very informative, loved it!

The Mermaid Atlas ist ein tolles Buch für alle, die sich für Meerjungfrauen und -Männer interessieren. Es gibt schön gestaltete Karten und Informationen zu den Meermenschen verschiedener Kulturen, somit ist für jeden was dabei.
Die Gestaltung macht das Buch besonders, aber nicht nur, für Kinder interessant, und man kann sich gut die Zeit damit vertreiben. Ich hoffe, es erscheint auch bald auf deutsch!

This book is absolutely amazing, it is beautiful and packed with fabulous myths and legends about mermaids. To encourage mermaid obsessed children to read this is perfect, my son loved it as well as the stories were interesting,
I highly recommend and will be ordering copies for both school and library.

Mermaids are seducting creatures, with heavenly voice that mirrors that of an angel, who enchant humans; or they’re terrible, gruesome creatures who terrify them. Divergence in the accounts of their appearance aside, it’s undeniable they’re part of the world’s culture and history. To quote the book itself, “Wherever there’s water, there are stories”.

This little atlas gathers those stories, legends and folklore of merfolk from all corners of the world. They’re divided by region: Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania, North America and South America. There’s also little sections about ancient mermaids, sightings, mermaid magic and more.

This is not just an archive on mermaids though, it contains sirens, selkies, water spirits and deities. They’re women turned fish, they’re sea royalty, masters of waves and storms, protectors and guardians, warm-hearted beings who help locals or vengeful and a threat to anyone who crosses their path. They can be found in palaces deep in the ocean, or watery caves or sunken abandoned ships, or even on land when they shapeshift from their form with scales to one with two human legs.

It’s obvious it took a lot of research to write this book even though it’s extremely short. I feel like they tried their best to be respectful and include varying cultures. I was so happy to see Yemọjá, the Mother of Orishas from Yoruba religion, mentioned! I grew up in Umbanda, a Brazilian religion heavily inspired by Yoruba, and Iemanjá, as we call her here, has always been an important presence in my life. It was only fair the Orisha of all body of waters had her place amongst these water beings. She is, after all, mother of all.

It’s astonishing that there are so many different tales of half fish, half human creatures. From the ancient greek myth of the Nereids, and the ancient Syrian moon goddess Atargatis whose grief made her fall all the way from the sky into the sea and turn mermaid, the kind fabric-waving mermaids in China to hideous human fish in Japan that turned a girl almost-immortal when she ate them, and mysterious shapeshifting sea-people from Northern Australia that can never be depicted in any form or image.

We have no clue about what creatures lay under the waves. Water has always been a center of mystery for us, and it will be for years and years to come. We might not succeed in our search, but it doesn’t matter. Humanity will continue to explore the oceans and deep waters, and who’s to say what we might find? But one thing is for certain, all these tales show us that the not knowing might be a gift in itself.

My local mermaid legend (Iara) was the last to be mentioned so I finished the reading with a big smile on my face. Though I do believe that should be the general reaction whether your country is Brazil or not. All thanks to the beyond gorgeous illustrations by Miren Asiain Lora that gave the book an unique and warm quality to it. I spent such long a time analysing her detailed and thoughtful art, they’re bewitching as mermaids should be. I highly reccomend this book for all its elements.

Even though Mermaid Atlas is about mythical and folkloric beings, it gave me a newfound love for humanity and storytelling. Is there even a difference between the two? They’re intrinsically connected, there isn’t one without the other. There’s nothing more human than folklore and stories passed from generation to generation. I wonder which long forgotten tales were lost to word of mouth and history. And I hope Mermaid Atlas had its place in the eternization of us.

The Mermaid Atlas is a fascinating encyclopaedia of mermaids and other mythical water creatures from all around the world. So many people picture mermaids as the conventional “Little Mermaid” but there is so much to these magical beings. This book explores each continent in turn as well as focussing on mermaid homes, ancient mermaids, mermaid magic, creatures mistaken for mermaids and mermaid sightings. It is a must-have for any mermaid or folklore lover.

The detailed maps are amazing. It is so interesting to see the different beliefs, sightings and stories from across the globe. Yet, one thing remains the same, mermaids are powerful and deserve respect. From the Arctic to the Caribbean to the South Pacific, mermaids have a mystical strength that can overpower anyone they come across. They may be good-natured or they may be evil but no matter what, they are the rulers of their underwater domains.

This book is an absolute treasure trove of mermaid facts – an enchanting collection of folklore, history and stories of cultural significance. It is perfect for anyone wanting to delve deeper into the oceans of knowledge that await.

The Mermaid Atlas is a stunning book with gorgeous illustrations and fascinating stories. It will charm and enchant readers of all ages looking to learn more about mermaids.

Wow, this book was absolutely beautiful!
The illustration was the best I've seen in a while, I could spend hours just looking at the pictures.

The book gives a great overview of mermaid myth/folklore which as the title suggests in an atlas form.
This a chapter for each continent with the various mermaid stories found in each one. In addition to this there are chapters on Mermaid homes, magic, sightings & things that can be mistaken for mermaids.

Aside from the mermaid 'facts' there is an introduction to each continent which gives some information about the waterways where mermaids can be found.

The book is a lovely introduction to geography & folklore around the world & the mermaids are useful tool to get kids interested.

This is a really good book, and if you don't mind such esoteric stuff for your young person to read there's no problems here whatsoever. I'll have to admit that the concept behind it raised an eyebrow with me, thinking it wouldn't be up to too much, but it's actually classy and intelligent. We get a gazetteer of the world's different mer-folk, from the Lorelei and other famous individuals, to the different 'species' we might think of – the Selkies, and so on. What makes it work is not only the classical craft that has designed this to look like an old-fashioned, authoritative (yet very readable) encyclopaedia, but the research being done – who would have guessed you could go to Zimbabwe, or Nigeria, and have mermaid legends? Sure, a lot of the characters sprung up to warn children away from the water, but this makes the world's mermaid species, and knowing about them, really quite appealing. Four and a half stars.

The Mermaid Atlas - Anna Claybourne
Published by: Laurence King Publishing
Pub’ Date: June 2020
ARC kindly accessed through #netgalley

This charming book is packed full of magical and mystical tales of mermaids. It is a mixture of maps showing key spots of significance to the Mermaid myth, information text about these serene creatures and skilfully crafted legends of their existence. It’s a lovely book for an avid fan of these creatures. It would also fit nicely into a unit about sea creatures, the sea, oceans or fantasy creatures ! A great text 🌟🌟🌟

Really lovely book with absolutely beautiful illustrations.
Divided into sections for each continent, this atlas provides short descriptions of the various types of mermaid-ish creatures found around the world along with snippets of the surrounding myths or legends.
Some of the mermaids are beautiful women with fish-tails like The Little Mermaid, others are creepy fanged creatures that will gladly drag you into the depths.
Worth reading simply for the gorgeous illustrations and will be loved by mermaids or mythical creatures fans of all ages.

The illustrations were beautiful in this book. I liked the information shared as a kid friendly way to look at geography and lore. I think this would be a great addition to a library's children's non-fiction collection.

4.5
What a beautiful book! The illustrations are a joy to look at and the maps are awesome. Though I would have liked more detailed information of all the mermaids there was a great variety of them here. I love reading about mermaids and water spirits from other cultures rather than the more familiar 'little mermaid' variety that I grew up with. There's also a good combination of both benign mermaids and the scary, blood thirsty kind (though the later are my absolute favourites). Overall this is a great introduction to the world's mermaid lore for kids but also a lovely addition to any mermaid lovers collection.

Ever wondered where a mermaid lives? Where can you spot one? And what do they look like? Are there mermaid legends everywhere in the world, or just in your country?

The Mermaid Atlas is a beautifully illustrated book that gives children a glimpse into the magical world of the mermaids. There's more to this mythical creature than a Disney princess, and The Mermaid Atlas will help you explore the legends that are hidden in different cultures around the world. Children will learn about the selkies, and the Karoo mermaid, the Little Mermaid and Mami Wata, the Nereids and the Sirens- all in a beautiful and magical way.

The Mermaid Atlas is an ideal book for the great curiosity children hide in themselves. And, who knows? It might even spark their imagination more! Highly recommended.

4 out of 5 🌟Folklore feast

Stories about mermaids or other sea-people are as old as the World's history of sailing. From beautiful young ladies rescuing sailors to blood-thirst water monsters waiting to kill them, mermaids look different in various parts of the globe. 'The Mermaid Atlas' is a short illustrated research about merfolks around the world. The book presents each continent and its sea-people on a big map and provides descriptions to each water tribe. Every page is decorated with illustrations by Miren Asiain Lora showing the details of mermaid's appearance.

What I liked the most was the information the book provided. Each type of mermaid is described with quite a lot of details, including history, legends, appearance, and more if available. Additionally, the book breaks down the mermen lifestyle, where they live, what they eat, and how good they're with magic. Also, presents all the actual facts like seamen presence in mythology, historical encounters with water creatures, and more. That's plenty of information for a children's book! I'm a huge mythology geek and this atlas satisfied my hunger for folklore stories.

*Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and feelings are my own.*

What a fantastic, absolutely stunning book! Beautiful illustrations accompanied by an interesting and well-researched text. It was a pleasure and a privilege to be able to read and review "The Mermaid Atlas". This book would make an ideal present for children interested in all things magic (and perhaps also adults!).

Recommended. With many thanks to the publisher and @NetGalley for providing a free e-copy of the book in exchange for a fair review.

I really like the illustrations in this book. I like the color and style. The title is straightforward. This is a book about mermaids all over the world and things related to mermaids. It divided into continentals. Asia. Europe. America. Africa, Australia. I like the mermaid maps on every continent. It gives you a glimpse of the mermaids in that area. Good for visualization. Some stories got more exposure than the other stories. Some stories are short and not in detail. Anyway, I still enjoy this book.

This is the best idea! I loved reading it and find out so many things about merfolk. I had no idea how many kinds of mermaids exist. I thought it's just Ariel and The little mermaid. And the two tails from Starbucks. Just kidding. But for sure there are more than I thought.

I will put on my wishlist because I need to show to my baby when he will be old enough to understand. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this atlas.

This is an informative and colourful book about all sorts of merfolk all around the world. It goes through the continents, and gives examples of different type of merfolk from the respective areas as well as giving the reader the stories about them. The book also contains pages of information about ancient merfolk, about what powers merfolk are said to have and sightings of them. I think children, and adults, alike would like to have this book on their bookshelves!

Its beautifully illustrated by Miren Asiain Lora with pictures that adds to the text. I especially enjoyed the portrayal of the Inuit goddess Sedna.

A brilliant, informative book!
I love all things mermaid and sea related. I live on the coast and I’m obsessed with the seaside. I also love fantasy and myths, I’m always reading retellings of The Little Mermaid or books set along bodies of water.
This book was amazing. The illustrations are beautiful and I really enjoyed reading the information about different mermaids and mermen and other mythical sea species. I work in a library and this would be a brilliant addition to our junior library! Definitely something I think we should purchase. Not even just for children, it’s great for people of all ages.

A beautiful book for any mermaid fan. This covers the world and talks about all the different mermaid stories from all the countries. I would get it for my 9 year old!