The Secret History of Mermaids and Creatures of the Deep by Ari Berk

The Secret History of Mermaids and Creatures of the Deep Reviews

• 
  Amanda

  This comes at mermaid lore from an anthropological perspective (with a given that merpeople are really real). This was a fun and factual sort of book that ten-year-old me would have really appreciated. There weren't as many full spread pictures of mermaids as I prefer in my picture books about mermaids, but there was a lot of care and detail that went into this book. It also has many interactive elements and was really well made.
• 
  Leoni_csh

  Wunderschöne Aufmachung und Illustrationen! Ich finde es ist eine schöne Idee die Geschichten als Sachbuch zu verpacken. Da es ein Kinderbuch ist, finde ich den schreibstil etwas zu schwierig
• 
  Barbara

  This book was fascinating to learn about the history of mermaids and sirens. It had wonderful lore stories and gave me inspiration for future drawings.
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  Starbubbles

  I wish I could say that I enjoyed this. Kids would probably enjoy it, just not me. Beautifully drawn, very creative, but the facts were hard to pick out from the author's imagination. Not that kids care about that. But yeah, it was like 40 pgs and I couldn't finish it. The text font and dark coloring on the page, coupled with confusing information about mermaids, and possibly mythology, made reading difficult.
• 
  Denise

  Fantastic illustrations, but I was disapointed with this due to the font used throughout (tiny and curly, often a dark blue on a black background?) which made it too difficult to read.
• 
  TammyJo Eckhart

  I bought this book at a aquarium months ago but I finally had the time to read through it. I liked it but it wasn't perfect.
  
  This is a fiction work structured as a secret organization's study; don't confuse those categories please. I love these types of books because when they are well done they are a balance of real life legends, myths, or folklore and historical events with the author's imagination. It is clear that Ari Berk had a wonderful imagination that has crafted a deep world.
  
  The pages are very thick because they are used to support fun interactive features on some of the pages. There are lift-up sections which have further information (except for one which is oddly blank) and fold out pages that can be one, two, or three folds long. I was sad that these interactive features were not on every page because that would have made it more fun to read alone or with another person (particularly kids).
  
  I really liked the drawing by Anderson, Chalk, Dangler, and Lee. Some of the images were a bit difficult to see clearly because of the colors chosen but that also forced me to spend more time looking at them. I wish I knew which images were created by which illustrator.
• 
  Dimitra

  Το βιβλιαράκι αυτό το όμορφο μου το χάρισε ένας πολύ καλός φίλος, γιατί πολύ απλά το βρήκε πολύ όμορφο.
  Και όντως ήταν! Αν και παιδικό βιβλίο, ήταν μια ευχάριστη εμπειρία που σίγουρα αν ήμουν παιδί θα το είχα απολαύσει πολύ περισσότερο!
  Ως ενήλικη βρήκα σημεία που θα μπορούσαν να είναι καλύτερα δομημένα αλλά δε θα τα αναλύσω, καθώς δε το βρίσκω δίκαιο να το κρίνω με το βαρετό ενήλικο μυαλό μου.
  Όμορφο βιβλίο, με πολλές ιδέες για να ταξιδέψουν τους μικρούς αναγνώστες και ένα μικρό στολίδι για τη δική μου βιβλιοθήκη.
• 
  Glinda Marsch

  Some books are fun to re-read because you learn something new each time, and this is such a book.
  Experience the magical world of merfolks. There are curses, mermaid songs, and sea enchantments to delight readers. The book is full of lavish art and popup information.
• 
  Miguel Vega

  Pretty interesting book overall. I really liked it and the art in this was fantastic. Really interesting.
• 
  smaranda

  Beautifully illustrated enchanting stories. A fond childhood memory, wish I could find my old copy of it...
• 
  Taylor Manookian

  i definitely read this in like 4th grade or something i remember getting this from the library it was cute and good
• 
  Ronesa Aveela

  What a delightful book. The cover is gorgeous, and the inside pages contain a vast amount of information about mermaids, and a little about other sea creatures. The pages all like those in popup stories. Although this book is not at all what I was expecting, it is something I'll treasure. I love the twist on "known" information about mermaids, and how our human knowledge of them is directed by the Order of the Golden Quills and Merfolk.
• 
  Maari

  one of the best books i have ever rea in my life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• 
  Amy Kane

  I love this book!!! I got it from my schools librarian(she loves me), she got it for her younger girls who love mermaids but she didn't want to show topless mermaids to them. It has great "info" if you like to learn about mythology!!!(and I love to learn and read about mythology)!! Recommend to older girls!!!!!!
• 
  RumBelle

  This book reminded me a lot of Wizardology and Fairyopolis. It was written in such a way as to resemble field guides of real animals. It talked about anatomy, habitat and habits of many mythological undersea creatures. The illustrations were glorious, and there were many fun lift the flap and insert elements. A highly enjoyable book.
• 
  Dana Al-Basha | دانة الباشا

  [‎Thursday, ‎March ‎22, ‎2012] I only now knew about this book! I NEED to get it! I LOVE mermaids!! I loved the Giants book so I'm sure I will love this one!
  
  [Monday, June 3, 2013] I just finished reading this beautiful book and all I could think about is mermaids... what magical creatures.
• 
  Sarah

  Beautifully made, absolutely charming- a little gem of a book!
• 
  Becky

  Beautiful book. A little scary in points. But charming illustrations
• 
  Melissa

  My 9 y.o. really enjoyed this book. She came back to it several times during the course of a week and spoke about it without prompting.
• 
  Wendy

  My 9 year old self would have relished this book. And I will not be judged for my currently-aged self enjoying it too.
• 
  Ashley

  it s a lot like the ology books that i use to read all the time. It was pretty neat, some of the legends I hadn't heard of before, or heard as a different magical race..
• 
  Dinielfe

  4,5 ⭐️
  So ein wunderschönes Buch!
• 
  kleinerpanda_

  Ich hatte nicht erwartet, dass es mir so gut gefallen würde. Man lernt einiges, es ist interessant und faszinierend. Die Gestaltung finde ich toll.
• 
  Jessica Jewett

  This is one of the coolest books I've come across in a long time! It's so creative!