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  YOU ARE HERE : Home > Categories > Books > Kids - General > Not Quite a Mermaid: Mermaid Friends
  ProdID: 955 - Not Quite a Mermaid: Mermaid FriendsAuthor:Linda Chapman Product Score: 9.8 
Not Quite a Mermaid: Mermaid Friends

Price : $12.95
Supplier :
Available : 1st May 2006

Electra loves exploring - and being the only mermaid to have legs instead of a tail doesn't stop her!

But on a school trip to older mermaids tease Electra and suddenlyshe doesn't feel like having adventures with her friends any more.

Has Electra's fun stopped forever?
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diogenes   Review #1250 - Dated: 17th of May, 2006
  Author: diogenes

Not quite a mermaid tells the tail(!) of a girl rescued as a baby and brought up by mermaids. This girl has legs and not a tail which obviously sets her apart from the other mermaids.

the story itself is clearly written with clear, simple narrative for younger readers, and has enough interest to hold a young reader enthralled by the story, even if the story is read to that child.

Underlying the story is the theme of bullying and it-is-ok-to-be-different, which is an all too common theme for all children attending school, and the book addresses the issues with aplomb, making the heroine someone the children can relate to and hopefully understand that not everyone is the same, whether it is race, religion or even deformity that makes that person different.
The heroine of the book really does become the heroine of the story because of her differences.
The theme is obvious to adult readers, but disguised enough for young readers not to spot the lecture but be able to enjoy a story with a moral theme running through it - something young minds can unravel subconsciously.

A great book, a great story and a superb moral hidden within the story. Having read it, I cannot recommend this book highly enough - especially to parents who have kids who are being bullied or teased at school. Two thumbs up for the writer and the illustrator of this book. Well done.

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Printed at 07:12:06am on Friday 29th March 2024