thegayngelgabriel's review against another edition
3.0
Soft and strange and lovely in many many ways...and at the same time, the fantasy of a totally sufficient white* heterosexual family in a pristine and entirely unpeopled wilderness to which they have all come within the last generation is a colonialist one. It doesn't stop being a colonialist fantasy because Randal Jarrell wrote beautiful prose.
*The mermaid, of course, is technically not white. Her skin color is not specified but is mentioned as being dark. I do not think this invalidates the above critique.
*The mermaid, of course, is technically not white. Her skin color is not specified but is mentioned as being dark. I do not think this invalidates the above critique.
snazel's review against another edition
3.0
Fun and dreamy little story about a found family made up of a hunter and the creatures he befriends (starting with a mermaid friend). Each chapter functions as it's own little short story. Which makes the bizarre retconning of the whole story in the last chapter especially weird? It's like the editor said "test groups said this book made people want to be mermaids, gotta make it sound bad" and they hurriedly cobbled together a moral about human life being great because you can get bored-- also the rest of the stories didn't happen. Excuse me?
I'd make my own final chapter, where I reading it to small people.
I'd make my own final chapter, where I reading it to small people.
harperphillips96's review against another edition
5.0
If you told me I could keep only one book from my childhood, this would be the one. So sweet and magical and simple and sometimes a little sad.
intoastory's review against another edition
5.0
"That's what they called me. The one who lives with the animals."
My mother read this to me as a child & the memory of it has always been a warm light in my heart.
I finally decided read this on my own, as an adult. I was around four when my mom read it to me. It's so incredible to go back & re-read the books that carved us into who we are as people. And it's magical to think that after all these years, this story is almost exactly as I remembered it.
Books we love become part of who we are and stay with us, always.
My mother read this to me as a child & the memory of it has always been a warm light in my heart.
I finally decided read this on my own, as an adult. I was around four when my mom read it to me. It's so incredible to go back & re-read the books that carved us into who we are as people. And it's magical to think that after all these years, this story is almost exactly as I remembered it.
Books we love become part of who we are and stay with us, always.
lyd_3754's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
daralek's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
cail_judy's review against another edition
5.0
That was just wonderful. Soothing like the best bedtime stories are.
eberico's review against another edition
5.0
I've read this several times on my own, but decided it was time for bedtime reading to include something ::I:: want to read. So far, the 3 year old loves it and regularly asks me about the mermaid's misperceptions of things from The Land.
giantarms's review against another edition
3.0
This is an absolutely beautiful book full of wonderful imagery and touching moments. But I cannot stop thinking about the mermaid flopping across the meadow. A real mixed bag here that I'll be thinking about a long time. For a grown person, sure, this is great. But if you've got a kid at ALL sensitive about issues of life and death, give it a pass cause there's a lot of that in here. Fortunately, my younger kid fell asleep and my older one was content demand the definitions of unproblematic words.
mimima's review against another edition
5.0
According to the inscription inside, this book was given to me when I was three by my Godmother. A story that I remember hearing as I grew up, and reading again and again. Sadly, my kids never loved it, though I tried.
A recent recommendation for the Backlisted Podcast led me to their discussion and I was absorbed - a treasured book from my childhood! It was a good re-read and maybe I can entice my as-of-yet-unborn grandchildren.
A recent recommendation for the Backlisted Podcast led me to their discussion and I was absorbed - a treasured book from my childhood! It was a good re-read and maybe I can entice my as-of-yet-unborn grandchildren.