No Kidding, Mermaids Are a Joke!: The Story of the Little Mermaid as Told by the Prince

The Other Side of the Story

by Nancy Loewen, Amit Tayal (Illustrations)

OF COURSE you think I was a lousy, no good guy for breaking the Little Mermaids heart. You don't know the other side of the story. Well, let me tell you.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Retellings, Fairy Tales, Mermaids, School, Fiction

24 pages, Library Binding

First published July 1, 2013

About the author

Nancy Loewen grew up on a farm in southwestern Minnesota, surrounded by library books and cats. She's published more than 140 books for children. FOUR TO THE POLE (co-authored with polar explorer Ann Bancroft) and THE LAST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN were Minnesota Book Award finalists. Her WRITER'S TOOLBOX series received a Distinguished Achievement Award from the Association of Educational Publishers.

Nancy lives in Saint Paul and has an MFA in Creative Writing from Hamline University. She has two adult children and a cat who sometimes bites her knees under the table as she writes.

Reviews

[Set]

This book doesn't make any sense. Why did the prince decide to set up this "joke" or prank with his friend? Doesn't make sense.

[Genevieve]

This one wasn't anywhere near as good as some of the others. I wasn't laughing along and I thought the mermaid was better off without the Prince.

[Rachel]

This is not the classic Disney romance we all know and love. In its parody format, it tells the tale of the prankster Prince who does not believe in mermaids. One day, this teenage beach-party-lover finds a mute girl. He considers from her strange ways that she might be the "mermaid" who saved him from drowning, but quickly dismisses her as a prank his friends are pulling. Despite her perfection, he ignores what he has, just to spoil his friends' supposed scheme. Boy is he wrong, so he loses it all.

Many of the books in this series do something clever in presenting an alternative view, unfortunately this one falls short. The Prince is hardly a character to feel sorry for, he lacks trust, and instead of accepting the girl as right for him, he concocts a terrible plan just to prove he's right. The modern setting adds nothing that the story didn't already have, it does allow for a few amusing references to the original though.

In general, character designs speak loads about personality types, but not every one is treated with the same careful hand, which makes for some slightly inconsistent artwork.

While parts are certainly humourous, little is felt for the Prince beyond what a fool he is. He may have been trying to cajole some sympathy out of us, but it is for the abandoned mermaid that we feel sorry. The end includes a page of questions for critical thinking, as well as additional texts for comparison.

[Chloe Richardson]

Great for using in the classroom

Really liked this one. Great illustrations and it was good to see yet another different view of the story. I liked the use of the words tale and tail.
Great for using in the classroom! The children could write the story from different points of view, such as the sea witch. I would explore the different versions of the little mermaid story, what versions have they previously heard? How has this story been modernised?
The children could write a poem to describe the princes experience when he was rescued.
The children could also write diary entries or letters from various points of views.
Drama techniques would be great for exploring this in more depth, e.g. conscience alley, freeze-framing, hot seating, whoosh etc.
The children could also write a newspaper report or news script to report on the events, including the princes birthday experience or the aftermath of the fake wedding.
I would be willing to use this book in both KS1 and KS2.

[Bethany]

The prince is a jerk in this one. Not a likable character at all. not that he was my favorite from the original version either. Like seriously you were in the middle of the ocean, how would a princess, who's dress is perfectly dry, she was walking on the beach not taking a swim. be the one to rescue you. Not that I begrudge him his happiness or anything. He's spoiled arrogant and totally marries a girl as a prank to get back at his friends. seriously no one holds out a prank for that long..
recommended? Maybe, I mean not every fairy tale ends with happily ever after.
Buy/borrow? borrow

[Ian McHugh]

This book annoyed me. If it were the whimsical alternative telling of The Little Mermaid it’s be great. As it is, the story is a baloney cover version of the original trying to be fun at and modern and ironic. It doesn’t do a good job on either score. The prince just looks an idiot.

[Elizabeth Edwards]

mermaid fans? what these stories to me really make you think ... like in life so many situations are a he said/she said kind of moment ... u can see it from both sides. it doesn't mean one is right or wrong ... just a different side. check this one out!! loved it.

[Elizabeth]

No Kidding, Mermaids Are a Joke!: The Story of the Little Mermaid as Told by the Prince (The Other Side of the Story) by Nancy Loewen—So I’ve never really liked the prince in the Little Mermaid story, but this is an interesting reimagining! I like the modern update! Happy Reading!

[Tracy]

Didn't do much for me. Modern retelling of The Little Mermaid from the prince's perspective.

Artwork was the best part, but not mind-blowing. The mermaid dodged a bullet when she didn't get this prince. Won't read again, or reccomend.

[Jenalee Paige]

Good for teaching perspective, but this one is a bit of there and does have a different ending from The Little Mermaid.

[Elizabeth S]

I really should stop reading the books in this series. They are all really quite dumb. Yawn.

[Jnase1]

A little better than the other stories in this series, but still ends abruptly with no real ending.

[Kalinda McElroy]

Good idea, horrible writing.

Told by a guy, written by a woman...yeah not to sound sexist but this should have been written by a guy.

[Little Seesaw]

A silly take on the Little Mermaid. I think kids will find it funny.

[Alex]

This one was really weird.

[Tia Garrigues]

An interesting take on the original The Little Mermaid story (not the Disney version!).

[Carole]

A wacky version of The Little Mernmaid.

[Emma]

Poor girl. He's a dunce.

[Amber Greer]

It’s okay

[BL WA]

short and not funny AT all

I hate this book with all my loath.it is childish and boring,and that’s coming from ME…ME! This is pippa not Claire,pippa is her 9 year old

[Jan Z]

This one was odd. It ended without having an ending. I guess the prince got what he deserved for being a practical joker.

[Mary]

I enjoyed this story because it was written from the perspective of the prince from the Little Mermaid story, and therefore caters more to boys than to girls. At the end of the story, there are critical thinking questions about how the story may have been different had it been told from a different perspective.

The narrative voice in this book is really entertaining and makes you feel like the prince is talking to you. It is also set up in a style reminiscent of a graphic novel, which makes the story appealing to kids who may not read very much.

I would recommend this book to reluctant early elementary level readers, girls or boys.

[Alice]

This whole series is just a riot. I love the fracture Fairy tale aspect. The twist of this "Little Mermaid" is a ton of fun! My co worker and I laughed through it...just fun! There is also 'talking point' in the back to use in a classroom setting! Thumbs up!

[Ck]

I enjoy fractured fairy tales. The Little Mermaid is my favorite tale. Nice to read the other side of the story, haha. The prince thinks that his friends are playing a practical joke on him, but he figures out that the joke is on him in the end.

[Cyndy]

The Fairy Tales with a Twist books are all interesting takes from the other side, for example Cinderella as told by the "Wicked" Step-mother. All of the ones I have read have been good (4 - 4.5 range).

[Lacey]

Cute little book as told from the Prince's side. I got a good laughter out of it as my hubby read it to our daughter.

[Best Camacho]

I want to read this booooooooooook

[Amber Williams]

I think these are so cute!! Makes you think about the story that you have heard if if it is the whole truth.

[Keleigh]

This can teach students not to play jokes on people to see if they have an ulterior motive because they coud be in for a rude awakening and lose friends by the treatment given to those friends.

[Denise Talamantez]

A cute twist from the original version.