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The Little Mermaid
Adaptation of Andersen's classic tale by acclaimed writer Pam Gems.
Paperback, 96 pages
Published
September 1st 2005
by Theatre Communications Group
(first published 1837)
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The Little Mermaid, illustrated by Chihiro Iwasaki.
For someone who doesn't particularly like the story of The Little Mermaid, I do seem to read it fairly often! From the abbreviated version illustrated by Katie Thamer Treherne, which I found pretty, but unremarkable, to the complete translation, accompanied by the distinctive artwork of noted fairy-tale interpreter, Lisbeth Zwerger, this popular tale has been retold numerous times. The artwork in Michael Hague's edition has always st...more
For someone who doesn't particularly like the story of The Little Mermaid, I do seem to read it fairly often! From the abbreviated version illustrated by Katie Thamer Treherne, which I found pretty, but unremarkable, to the complete translation, accompanied by the distinctive artwork of noted fairy-tale interpreter, Lisbeth Zwerger, this popular tale has been retold numerous times. The artwork in Michael Hague's edition has always st...more
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The Little Mermaid, illustrated by Sulamith Wülfing.
I am somewhat bemused to find myself giving any edition of Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid - a tale about which I have, at best, ambiguous feelings - a full five stars, but I was so enchanted by Sulamith Wülfing's gorgeous artwork that four stars just wasn't sufficient. This astonishingly beautiful picture-book now ranks up there with my all-time favorite Andersen retellings, from Vladylsav Yerko's The Snow Queen, to An...more
I am somewhat bemused to find myself giving any edition of Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid - a tale about which I have, at best, ambiguous feelings - a full five stars, but I was so enchanted by Sulamith Wülfing's gorgeous artwork that four stars just wasn't sufficient. This astonishingly beautiful picture-book now ranks up there with my all-time favorite Andersen retellings, from Vladylsav Yerko's The Snow Queen, to An...more
Abigail
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Fairy-Tale Lovers / Charles Santore Fans
The Little Mermaid, illustrated by Charles Santore.
One of Andersen's most beloved fairy-tales, The Little Mermaid was originally published in 1837, as part of the collection Eventyr, fortalte for Børn. Første Samling. Tredie Hefte. (Fairy Tales Told for Children, First Collection, Third Booklet). An immediate popular success, it tells the story of a young mermaid who falls in love with an earthly prince, sacrificing everything in order to become human, and have a chance of winning hi...more
One of Andersen's most beloved fairy-tales, The Little Mermaid was originally published in 1837, as part of the collection Eventyr, fortalte for Børn. Første Samling. Tredie Hefte. (Fairy Tales Told for Children, First Collection, Third Booklet). An immediate popular success, it tells the story of a young mermaid who falls in love with an earthly prince, sacrificing everything in order to become human, and have a chance of winning hi...more
It would be hard to convince me that this isn't the most perfect illustrated version of The Little Mermaid ever. It is everything I could have ever hoped and imagined for this beautiful and tragic tale. The text is taken from a mid-nineteenth century English translation by Mary Howitt. Howitt was a contemporary and friend of H.C. Andersen as well as an author and poet in her own right. She wrote the famous poem The Spider and the Fly. Truth be told the text is extremely long and wordy for a p...more
A hauntingly beautiful story paired with achingly gorgeous illustrations! I'm sorry to say that this is the first time I've read the "actual" story of the Little Mermaid, previously acquainted only with very general retellings and the Disney movie version (which is delightful in its way). This version purports to be closest to Andersen's original as it makes only slight adaptations from the mid-19th century translation by Mary Howitt, a correspondent and friend of Andersen who introd...more
Abigail
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Fairy-Tale Lovers/ Lisbeth Zwerger Fans
The Little Mermaid, illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger.
Lisbeth Zwerger, that fairy-tale illustrator par excellence, whose numerous interpretations of the work of Hans Christian Andersen - from individual tales like Thumbeline, The Swineherd, and The Nightingale, to collections such as Andersen's Fairy Tales - have all won accolades, turns her attention to the tale of The Little Mermaid in this 2004 picture-book.
The visual effect is delightful, with Zwerger's colorful, idiosyn...more
Lisbeth Zwerger, that fairy-tale illustrator par excellence, whose numerous interpretations of the work of Hans Christian Andersen - from individual tales like Thumbeline, The Swineherd, and The Nightingale, to collections such as Andersen's Fairy Tales - have all won accolades, turns her attention to the tale of The Little Mermaid in this 2004 picture-book.
The visual effect is delightful, with Zwerger's colorful, idiosyn...more
The Little Mermaid, illustrated by Michael Hague.
Although many contemporary readers, particularly those influenced by the rather unfortunate animated Disney film adaptation, interpret The Little Mermaid as a story of true love (requited or not, depending upon whether one reads the original), other observers have pointed to the rather heavy-handed moralizing, and the religious ending (added later by Andersen), as evidence that this is actually a tale about the search for salvation.
...more
Although many contemporary readers, particularly those influenced by the rather unfortunate animated Disney film adaptation, interpret The Little Mermaid as a story of true love (requited or not, depending upon whether one reads the original), other observers have pointed to the rather heavy-handed moralizing, and the religious ending (added later by Andersen), as evidence that this is actually a tale about the search for salvation.
...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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dara
rated it
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review of another edition
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
small children who should realize at an early age that not even fairy tales are all happy endings
Shelves:
read-in-2008,
reviewed
The Little Mermaid is a short, rather sad story of sacrificing for love. After saving a prince from drowning, the little mermaid falls in love so deeply that she wishes to become human desperately enough to make a deal with the sea witch. She is told that if she fails to capture the prince's heart, then on the morning after he is married to another, she will turn into sea foam. Not only does she lose her voice to the sea witch in exchange for legs, but every step she makes is excruciatingly pain...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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This is a hauntingly beautiful love story about a mermaid who falls in love with a human. Spoilers will probably be ahead, so you've been warned.
If you want to read this story because you expect it to be all rainbows and sunshine like the Disney version, don't even bother. This is a more twisted and dark version of the story, the true original. A lot of things are very different than the Disney movie (which I also happen to love to bits, can't you tell by my default picture?), includin...more
If you want to read this story because you expect it to be all rainbows and sunshine like the Disney version, don't even bother. This is a more twisted and dark version of the story, the true original. A lot of things are very different than the Disney movie (which I also happen to love to bits, can't you tell by my default picture?), includin...more
I know it's odd but I don't remember reading this in my childhood. When I was small I remember reading Paddington Bear and Winnie-the-Pooh and Lear's Nonsense Rhymes and many others, but when it came to many famous children's books I just don't remember them. I read Alice for the first time when I was 19 years old. But what I feel blessed about is that unlike some people who feel awkward reading children's books and have shared in Goodreads that reading Alice was difficult for them and they coul...more
After loving the Disney movie version for so long I finally read the original story. Not this edition in particular with illustrations but I couldn't find the one I read. Many who have read the original story that both stories are very different and they are. I loved the author's descriptions of the mermaid kingdom it was so much more beautiful than what was shown in the animated movie and the little mermaids sacrifice was much greater though she took no less time to think about the horrible con...more
Lisbeth Zwerger is one of my favorite illustrators. Even though she illustrates in color, her pictures remind me of the sense I get when looking at black and white photographs. The pictures are cool but not chilly. They might reveal secrets.
It had been a long time since I had first read Andersen's story, and I was struck by how much I had forgotten how beautiful and vividly written it was. Here are the first two sentences:
Far out in the ocean, where the water is as blue a...more
It had been a long time since I had first read Andersen's story, and I was struck by how much I had forgotten how beautiful and vividly written it was. Here are the first two sentences:
Far out in the ocean, where the water is as blue a...more
Wonderful book translated by a wonderful person. She was 96 and unable to read when we edited this book together. Word by word, punctuation mark by punctuation mark, she was so meticulous. And even when she closed here eyes while I was reading it to her, she was alert for any discordant note - a real perfectionist. She lived long enough to see the galley proofs, with the fabulous illustrations by Christian Birmingham, whom she much admired. It was a great privilege for me, a non-literary person,...more
This is one of my favorite books when I was a little child. It really breaks my heart when finally I know she became bubbles. One of the most important reasons is it edifies people a significant moral value which is about love and sacrifice. To pursue the true love and eternal soul of human, she gives up the fabulous life and the 300-year lifespan. The little mermaid would drink the poison and suffer the pain in order to see the prince. Moreover, at the dawn of the prince’s wedding day, the...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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I appreciate this story now that I am an adult. I was 6 when it was read to me the the first time. I did not get it until when I am 27 and with a girl of my own. "Do not change who you are for a male or anyone. If asked to change, do not do it for you are the way you are for a reason." The main female lead gives up her voice and later on in the story, herself for someone else. Tough lesson story, but hauntingly beautiful at the same. It teaches that not all stories have a happy ending,...more
This was actualyl a really sad book. The disney movie truly did sguar coat it. It tells the story of a mermaid who saves a drowning prince and fall in love. She looks to the sea witch and trades her voice for a pair of legs. Every step she takes bears so much pain, but she does it for love. The book ends with another ending than the movie and she is turned into seafoam when she returns to the water. This book makes you think about the sacrifrices we make for love. Its inspiring, but heartbreakin...more
6th-8th
This story is about a young girl who always wanted to turn 15. At the age of fifteen she would be old enough to explore the world above the water. This young girl was a mermaid. This mermaid finds her self in several adventures that include a prince.
This is a story many students could relate to. Many students may wish for something and the results were not what they expected. This story could not only be compared to the Disney edition of the "Little Mermaid...more
This story is about a young girl who always wanted to turn 15. At the age of fifteen she would be old enough to explore the world above the water. This young girl was a mermaid. This mermaid finds her self in several adventures that include a prince.
This is a story many students could relate to. Many students may wish for something and the results were not what they expected. This story could not only be compared to the Disney edition of the "Little Mermaid...more
Such a sad sad tale. Love and lives lost. Women subjugating themselves to some ideal of man for nought. If you're a bit sensative please stick to the Disneyised version.
Must pause on the illustrations of this particular version though because they were a visual paradise. They looked 'underwater' enough to have a 'fuzziness' to them that made you squint for more detail, or just hold it at arms length and fall into the sea. My boys weren't drawn to the book ("That's a girl ...more
Must pause on the illustrations of this particular version though because they were a visual paradise. They looked 'underwater' enough to have a 'fuzziness' to them that made you squint for more detail, or just hold it at arms length and fall into the sea. My boys weren't drawn to the book ("That's a girl ...more
While browsing the bookshelves in my fifth-grade classroom, I found this gem of a book and found a fascinating,wonderful albeit slightly gruesome love story that preceded the Disney movie by about twelve years. All I came away with as a fifth-grader was that love will demand a sacrifice. And I will always remember that she was willing to live with pain to be with the man she loved. It doesn't have the feel of a children's story, although it has been adapted into that very thing. The copy I read ...more
Talk about depressing. I've loved this tale since I was a little girl. I've always been partial to bittersweet and melancholy stories. Reading this again after several years, I definitely looked at it from a different perspective. The little mermaid sacrifices everything, including her voice (a metaphor for her identity) for a man that she really doesn't know AT ALL. Even though later she finds out that he's kind-hearted and loving, she didn't know that when she made the bargain with the witch. ...more
I'm gonna say the blasphemous: I kinda like the Disney movie a little bit more. It's not that I love the movie's happy fairy tale ending or wanted the book to feature singing lobsters (although, fuck, that would still be pretty cool). It's mostly because when I was four years old I played it on repeat every single day every couple of hours and I have a serious nostalgic love for it. I guess I like the movie's larger emphasis on the villain and the back-stabbing sub-plot, and the more rebellious ...more
Abigail
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Little Mermaid Lovers / Katie Thamer Treherne Fans
The Little Mermaid, illustrated by Katie Thamer Treherne.
Originally published in Danish as Den lille havfrue, Andersen's tale of a mermaid who longs to be human, in order to win romantic love and eternal salvation, has been retold countless times, and interpreted by many different authors and artists. I suspect that it is the most well-known of the author's many beloved tales. Certainly, it is one of the most adapted.
As mentioned in my review of the Charles Santore versio...more
Originally published in Danish as Den lille havfrue, Andersen's tale of a mermaid who longs to be human, in order to win romantic love and eternal salvation, has been retold countless times, and interpreted by many different authors and artists. I suspect that it is the most well-known of the author's many beloved tales. Certainly, it is one of the most adapted.
As mentioned in my review of the Charles Santore versio...more
"Far out in the ocean, where the water is as blue as the prettiest cornflower, and as clear as crystal, it is very, very deep; so deep, indeed, that no cable could fathom it: many church steeples, piled one upon another, would not reach from the ground beneath to the surface of the water above. There dwell the Sea King and his subjects. We must not imagine that there is nothing at the bottom of the sea but bare yellow sand. No, indeed; the most singular flowers and plants grow there; the le...more
This is NOT Disney's version of the tale of the female flippered being who fell in love with a terra trodding man.
When I was ten, we were taken to watch the old old old cartoon version of the story for a friend's birthday activity. It was so real to me at the time.I left so upset!
When I read the Andersen story as an adult, the addition of the details in prose left me no better.
Oh, what some give to love truly for a moment!!!
Whaaaaa!
When I was ten, we were taken to watch the old old old cartoon version of the story for a friend's birthday activity. It was so real to me at the time.I left so upset!
When I read the Andersen story as an adult, the addition of the details in prose left me no better.
Oh, what some give to love truly for a moment!!!
Whaaaaa!
this was the first little mermaid story i was aware of. i’m not really a fan of disney because they alter the stories, among other things, and so in retrospect i thank my mother for getting me this book when i was young. The story is beautiful and the pictures are as beautiful as the story. This is my standard for the little mermaid story and to date all other renditions i’ve read have been sub-par in comparison.
The Little Mermaid is a very good story and gives us the truth behind what really happened to the mermaid. As Disney recreated this story into a film they changed the story dramatically(. The way that Disney changes this story does make it a fun movie however the real story is in this book. The story is extremely well written and has some really amazing illustrations throughout the book.
Hans Chrisitan Andersen's original tale of the Little Mermaid is full of woe, sacrifice but filled with a spirit of goodness. Growing up I loved (and still love) the animated film and despite Andersen's tale ending tragically and somewhat unfinished, I enjoyed his descriptions of the sea and the elegant surferring that the nameless little mermaid endured
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Hans Christian Andersen, or simply H.C. Andersen, was a Danish author and poet, most famous for his fairy tales. Among his best-known stories "The Snow Queen", "The Little Mermaid", "The Emperor's New Clothes" and "The Ugly Duckling". During Andersen's lifetime he was feted by royalty and acclaimed as having brought joy to children across Europe. His fairy t...more
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“But a mermaid has no tears, and therefore she suffers so much more.”
—
15 people liked it
“If human beings are not drowned, asked the little mermaid, can they live forever? do they never die as we do here in the sea? Yes, replied the old lady, they must also die, and their term of life is even shorter than ours. We sometimes live to three hundred years, but when we cease to exist here we only become the foam on the surface of the water, and we have not even a grave down here of those we love. We have not immortal souls, we shall never live again; but, like the green sea-weed, when once it has been cut off, we can never flourish more. Human beings, on the contrary, have a soul which lives forever, lives after the body has been turned to dust. It rises up through the clear, pure air beyond the glittering stars. As we rise out of the water, and behold all the land of the earth, so do they rise to unknown and glorious regions which we shall never see.
Why have not we an immortal soul? asked the little mermaid mournfully; I would give gladly all the hundreds of years that I have to live, to be a human being only for one day, and to have the hope of knowing the happiness of that glorious world above the stars.
You must not think of that, said the old woman; we feel ourselves to be much happier and much better off than human beings.
So I shall die, said the little mermaid, and as the foam of the sea I shall be driven about never again to hear the music of the waves, or to see the pretty flowers nor the red sun...”
—
12 people liked it
More quotes…
Why have not we an immortal soul? asked the little mermaid mournfully; I would give gladly all the hundreds of years that I have to live, to be a human being only for one day, and to have the hope of knowing the happiness of that glorious world above the stars.
You must not think of that, said the old woman; we feel ourselves to be much happier and much better off than human beings.
So I shall die, said the little mermaid, and as the foam of the sea I shall be driven about never again to hear the music of the waves, or to see the pretty flowers nor the red sun...”
