Mairi's Mermaid

by Michael Morpurgo

Robbie says swimming is easy. You just have to pretend you’re a mermaid. But that doesn’t help Mairi. She isn’t even sure that mermaids are real!

Genres: Kids

48 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2001

About the author

Sir Michael Andrew Morpurgo, OBE, FRSL is the author of many books for children, five of which have been made into films. He also writes his own screenplays and libretti for opera. Born in St Albans, Hertfordshire, in 1943, he was evacuated to Cumberland during the last years of the Second World War, then returned to London, moving later to Essex. After a brief and unsuccessful spell in the army, he took up teaching and started to write. He left teaching after ten years in order to set up 'Farms for City Children' with his wife. They have three farms in Devon, Wales and Gloucestershire, open to inner city school children who come to stay and work with the animals. In 1999 this work was publicly recognised when he and his wife were invested a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to youth. In 2003, he was advanced to an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). He became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL) in 2004. He was knighted in the 2018 for his services to literature and charity. He is also a father and grandfather, so children have always played a large part in his life. Every year he and his family spend time in the Scilly Isles, the setting for three of his books.

Reviews

[Klare · Rating 2 out of 5]

A mermaid story for younger readers

[Hwee Goh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Your little girl will LOVE this book! Mairi is a little girl who desperately wants to swim but keeps sinking instead. She saves what looks like a little fish from the claws of a horrible crab only to find that she has saved a mermaid. The pictures are just gorgeous and there are little speech bubbles that help to captivate the little reader. "Where did you get that finbag?" "From a little plaice I know!" My favourite picture is the one where Mairi learns how to swim beautifully under the tutelage of the mermaids, and she dives down to see the mermaids' palatial home. Just enchanting! Suitable for girls and boys 6-8. Great job, Michael Morpugo!

[Mairéad · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5/5 rounded up because of the illustrations which are lovely and bright with added humourous moments for children to discover as they read. The story itself is not very engaging though readers aged 6+ who like mermaid stories will probably enjoy it!

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice tale for lower aged readers. Accessible text and pictures and it’s an AR book

[Mina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mairi's Mermaid is about a young girl (Mairi) who longs to swim but cannot. She is almost scared of pushing herself and is even taunted by her brother who is a great swimmer. One day while she was paddling about in one of the rock pools, she comes across a distressed mermaid who was no bigger than her hand. The little mermaid wanted to be rescued from a huge crab and then to be released back into the sea. Mairi obliged after which she bonded with the little mermaid and her family. The family taught Mairi how to swim so she was able to swim back to shore and show her brother and parents what a great swimmer she now was.

This is a great little story about overcoming challenges and not being afraid to try something new that might seem a bit scary. It would also be a great tool to use if some children are scared of swimming so that they can relate to Mairi's story and realise that it is nothing to be afraid of. The illustrations were great for contextualising the story and even had speech bubbles, which will enhance the children's reading experience.

I would estimate the age range for this book to be 6 to 8 years old.

It would work great as a group setting as it would allow for the children to join in and demonstrate their understanding, e.g. "What is doggy paddle? And what about the butterfly stroke?" This book would also work well for independent reading as the children will have a chance to examine the pictures and the additional speech bubbles closer. Also this could work as a precursor for a PE activity, where children are reminded and encouraged to try new activities and not to be scared or put off.

[Ste Bristolco]

really engaging book. Beautiful illustrations showing children how they can keep on trying to achieve something