Mythological Mondays: MERMAID TALES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

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Well, it's Monday, and since my Mythological Mondays banner features a mermaid, it would be wrong not to spotlight her brethren today, so here we go!

Mythological Mondays is a feature I created to spotlight books brimming with--you guessed it--mythology! I adore this sub-genre and can't wait to share my love with all of my fellow bookworms! This feature isn't just focused on novel reviews; it may also include interviews, looks at original mythological tales, etc. Please feel free to do this with me! If you guys ever do a mythological feature and want to join this and snag my lovely mermaid, I would LOVE to see the feature. Leave a comment for us all to see! It doesn’t have to be Greek mythology, or even mythology per say. It can be mermaids, unicorns, or heck, even fairy tales (because I’m too lazy to do a separate fairy tale feature…). It doesn’t even have to be every Monday. I’m sure there will be Mondays when I skip, too!

Mermaid lore has been around for centuries.  Where did it come from?  While many believe that sailors actually saw creatures such as manatees, others remain adamant that mermaids are real, but choose to hide from humans.

There are so many interesting tales about mermaids and their antics.  Two of my favorite compilations are MERMAID TALES FROM AROUND THE WORLD as retold by Mary Pope Osborne and A TREASURY OF MERMAIDS: MERMAID TALES FROM AROUND THE WORLD by Shirley Climo.  While both books are out of print, previously loved copies can be found in used bookstores and online sites such as Amazon and AbeBooks.

Both books are beautifully illustrated, and feature mermaids from around the world.  It's so interesting to see the unique perspectives that create each tale. I've marked up so many of these stories!  There are even tales that have traces of fairy tales such as SNOW WHITE and CINDERELLA, making them even more compelling.  Some of the stories are creepy, others endearing.  


I love seeing the way mermaid tales remain so unique in their respective countries while still maintaining that mermaids exist.  If so many countries that didn't always interact with one another came up with the same theory, surely mermaids must be real, right?