I love mermaids and so found this really interesting. I’ve ordered a copy for my bookcase as I keep thinking about parts and want to go back to specific bits but feel that is easier with the physical copy.
The illustrations are just perfect and fit really well with the book. I love the diary entry style of writing and found this was so easy to read

This book has some serious beautiful arríele and the colors are so vivid and stunning. The kids and I really enjoyed this mystical story and the world we got to venture into.

I thought this was such a delightful book. I loved the journal style and the illustrations which is written by a fictional explorer Darcy Delamare who disguised herself as a man to claim a place on a scientific expedition HMS Challenger. Here is where she made the discover of some different sea creatures which in today's points of view are mermaids. I love how the story flows and it is short, but great.

Hmmm… Gorgeous to look at, this is supposed to be a report into the science of mermaids and mermen – a Victorian-era research vessel managed to carry a woman disguised as a man, and this is her findings written up as an academic volume for people to finally know the truth with. It's all great to explore, although in digressing to different types of corals it does feel a touch padded out. The biggest problem is that this is presented in conjunction with the narrative side of the book, generally concerning the actual progress of the boat and her science. And here things suffer, (a) because the boat's route is like a blind drunkard trying out zorbing for the first time, and (b) the narrative, sorry to say, ain't all that.

As a fiction, then, the piece is a bit rum. As a mock-up of a science paper of the time it's brilliantly coloured – so much so it may lose some realism. And as a book about merfolk, it has too much of the author and not enough of the lore of us real world people, only dipping in and out of the many legends about mermaids at times, enough to show what it might have been if not permanently stuck on its own conceit. I admired every hour of the labour that went into presenting this, but I can't say it's as delightful to wade through.

Thank you, NetGalley, for an e-ARC of A Natural History of Mermaids by Emily Hawkins.
A beautifully illustrated encyclopedia about mermaids and merfolk. Emily Hawkins creates a fictional fantasy around the idea of mermaid sightings. Written in picture book format, this book would fascinate anyone interested in learning about merfolk.

This one is SUPER interactive and so much fun – a playful meticulously detailed field notebook that talks about everything you and your little one could ever want to or hope to know about the history and legend of mermaids from around the world, this one is a combination of fairytale, history, culture, art, and more – this one is a treasure trove of things to talk about and read. For a child that is interested in any of these subjects, this is the perfect way to grab their attention and to introduce them to a format that is learning and science based, and that includes things like letters, etc. to get their minds whirring. You could have so much fun with this one for days!

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

A Natural History of Mermaids is a beautiful encyclopedia type book for children all about mermaids. I was pleasantly surprised with the quantity of information on mermaids that was included in this book as I didn't expect there to be as much as there was. The book features lots of illustrated pictures and diagrams to help the reader understand things better. I would say this is more for an advanced reader as the quantity of the text would be a little bit too much for one who struggles or is still on a reading scheme. The illustrations are beautiful and a great book for any mermaid lover.

All things mermaid! Done in the style of a historical field notebook, this incredibly detailed book contains everything you ever wanted to know about merfolk, from anatomy and behavior to life cycles and communication. This book is a big hit in our school library!

A “factual” look at the fantastical idea of merfolk. The book is good, but I wasn’t the right reader for it.

The content is set around the idea that a woman explorer named Darcy Delamare disguised herself as a man and joined the scientific expedition team of the HMS Challenger. (FYI, the woman is fictional; the expedition isn’t.) Darcy’s “findings” are presented in this book, which is patterned like a field journal, replete with her research data, her notes on the characteristics and habits of merfolk, information on underwater content such as shells and plants (and even on things like “types of mermaid tails”). The entire idea is a tongue-in-cheek way of presenting the “truth about mermaids”, with the last page acting as the spoilsport when the President of the British Society of Natural Sciences debunks all the “proof” sent by Darcy as hogwash.

The extent of information in the book took me by surprise. Had I now known the reality about mermaids, I would almost have been convinced of their existence. (Maybe some younger kids will actually believe in mermaids after reading this! Who knows?!) The style of writing is very encyclopaedic, with each page having sectioned text boxes designed in papyrus style. These contain information about the mer folk as well as an excerpt of Darcy’s notes from her journal. The content intermingles fact and fiction. For instance, the deep sea angler fish is presented as a mermaid variant, with an illustration supporting the same. Same goes for the puffer fish and many other uncommon fish.

On the positive side, the lore elements were outstanding! The books presents info in mermaids from a variety of cultures and regions. It delves into how the myths began, where the “first mermaid was sighted”, and so on. I enjoyed the parts where real animal facts were disguised as mer information. The illustrations are beautiful and match the content excellently.

On the flip side, this fact-fiction medley isn’t a style that works well for me. Had the entire book contained a humorous approach that was more overt than covert, I might have enjoyed it more. But the humour is too subtle and the presentation too straightforward, thereby creating mixed signals at least in my head.

Also, the small size of the text made it very difficult to read. (This might not be a problem in the physical copy, but my digital copy sure tested the limits of my eyes.) There is too much information per page. It might get too overwhelming for kids. The official age range is 7-11 years, but the younger of this segment might enjoy the illustrations more than the content.

I have always maintained that I am a creature of logic. The dominant left side of my brain is trying hard to figure out the point of the book and whom to recommend it to. The subdued right side is whispering, “Suggest it to those who love mermaids.” For once, my left hemisphere will pay heed to the advice. Ergo…

Recommended to those who love mermaids, regardless of age.

3 stars.

Don’t forget, this is an outlier review by a reader who shouldn’t have read this book in the first place. The other reviews are overwhelmingly positive, so ignore the logical grump writing this, and decide for yourself.

My thanks to Quarto Publishing Group – Frances Lincoln Children's Books and NetGalley for the DRC of “A Natural History of Mermaids”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

This was a wonderful fantasy encyclopedia presented in a non fiction way.

It is full to the brim with facts and guidance for those interested in merpeople and the work the author has put into the book is considerable.

The illustrations are in a lovely vintage style and the found footage way everything is presented works really well.

I sadly felt that the story surrounding D'Arcy Delamare sneaking onto the ship and submitting her evidence of the merpeople to the British Society of Natural Science was unnecessary.

Overall this would be a lovely book that any child could lose themselves in for many hours.

I received an ARC of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is such a clever little book. The illustrations are beautiful, the mer-science is compelling, and the real science snuck in throughout the book is very interesting. So much time, thought, and effort must have been spent on this book. I am truly impressed. My one complaint is that, though only 33 pages, it felt long.

In a style that will be familiar to fans of Dragonology and other books in that series, A Natural History of Mermaids is a sort of non-fiction version of fiction. It claims to be written by Darcy Delamare, a scientist who disguised herself as a man on a ship in 1872 because men didn't like women to be scientists back then. This book contains all of her observations about mermaids.

While the author and various mermaid sightings listed are clearly fictional, the book contains a lot of information about the mythology of mermaids. This allows the reader to learn about historic cultures and their views of mermaids as well as historical objects depicting merpeople. The mythology is well-researched and covers cultures and mermaid history from all over the world. The information on where mermaids live and how their bodies operate also echo science and real creatures. Readers will learn real information about various ocean areas such as kelp forests, seagrass meadows, and reefs.

The illustrations of the book are bright and colorful. They are engaging and offer a lot for readers to enjoy. Unfortunately, the font choice can be hard to read at times, but overall the pages are a joy to look at.

I didn't find the scientist sharing notes to be particularly well done in this book. It's been done quite a bit at this point, and unfortunately, that angle doesn't add anything to this book. It doesn't have a story worth following and, in the end, is more distracting than anything. It adds to the idea that this is all true, which is fun, but the story of that itself doesn't carry well.

Overall, this is a delightful book for fans of mermaids of all ages.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book but it blew me out of the water! The world building, illustrations, and format of this book are perfect. It reads like a nonfiction diary of sorts, which I think makes the book even more magical. The is a must own for all public and school libraries and anyone that loves mermaids!

Myths, legends, fantasy, and more and all about merfolk!
A wonderful study in full brilliant color of everything there is and ever was to know about merfolk through the ages.
The illustrations by Jessica Roux are delightful, colorful, vibrant, imaginative, and FANTASTIC!
Well suited for reading WITH someone of any age.
I really want to get one for my local public library!
I requested and received a free temporary e-book on Adobe Digital Editions from Quarto Publishing Group/Frances Lincoln Children's Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

This book is GORGEOUS!
It's set up as a field guide. Perfect for a curious youngster to flip pages and find their favorite parts. I will for sure be buying a copy in print. There are so many different mermen, different fish types, body types, and so much folklore with different origins,
This book is so great!

An interesting and short read if you like mermaids. I liked the drawings and the infomation we got. I would read this with my nieces and nephews.

I think my new favorite genre of children's books is fiction that is also non-fiction. I love the use of fantasy creatures in order to help facilitate learning about science in a way that kids might not find interesting. I love the variation of mermaids and the way the book was written like an expedition journal.

Readability especially was a problem for me with this book, the font was incredibly difficult to read which, if it's hard for an adult, will only be harder for children.

While I don't think there's anything wrong with having more than one book that uses mermaids as a jumping point to help teach about nature, I find it interesting that there's another book with a very similar premise coming out the same month, but I do think that A Field Guide to Mermaid handles it a little better in ease of use and readability. The more ironic (and funny to me) part being that both authors are named Emily.

Thank you to NetGalley for making this available in exchange for an honest review!

4.5 Stars
I love it!
In 1880, The British Society of Natural Sciences received a letter from a mysterious lady scientist, Darcy Delamare, about her adventurous trip and the discovery of mermaids. Darcy Delamare sailed aboard the HMS Challenger as Daniel Dawson (in disguise because men didn’t like women in the field of science) in December 1872. This book contains her notes and observations about the scientific voyage and mermaids from around the world.
A Natural History of Mermaids is what I’d call an encyclopedia of mermaids. Darcy Delamare starts with a brief history of mermaids in different cultures (Mesopotamia - Oannes, Syria - Atargatis, Greek – Triton, etc.). She goes on to provide information about the types of mer (maids and men) in different regions (from the Arctic to Tropical and Deepwater). She mentions fake mermaid sightings and captures as well.
Do you know:
• There are mer in the Polar Regions, and some look like walrus.
• Mer has ten types of tails!
• Mer lay eggs but feed milk to kiddo mers (these littles are the cutest, I tell you).
• Mers migrate and can sleep when standing.
• They are friends with sea horses and use hand signs to communicate (they say Namaste to each other!).
• Mer communication might sound like a song (and, no, they sure don’t sing songs to lure sailors).
• Ocean forests, mangroves, reefs, etc., provide great camouflage for mer. They need it, too, considering the risk.
And guess what? The mermaid from Hindu and Thai epics of Ramayana is also mentioned. We call her Suvarchala, a sea maiden (rather a huge fish). The stories of her and Hanuman ji are varied (quite common), but yes, we know her. :)
The illustrations are fantastic. If they look so so good in an electronic copy, I can imagine how marvelous they would be in a hard copy. Sigh! Mer come in all shapes, sizes, and colors (literally). I like that the mermaids have covering on their chest, be it seaweed, shells, or just hair. The mer tails sparkle on some pages. I could stare at the illustrations for hours and not feel the least bit inclined to close the book.
I had to reduce 0.5 stars because of the font size. Seriously, publishers, please spare our eyes. Tiny font means I had to change the layout and enlarge it, which makes it difficult to scroll. I’m not sure how the font will be in the physical copy. The book dimensions need to be fairly big for kids to read without squinting at the page.
The information can be overwhelming if you read the book in one go. Spread it over a week or more to enjoy the book to its fullest. The bits of dry humor act like perfect seasoning. The book does end on a bittersweet note, a small reminder about the unfairness of society, but, oh, well.
To sum up, A Natural History of Mermaids is THE book for kids who love mermaids and aquatic life. There’s so much to learn, not just about mer but also about the seas and oceans.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – Frances Lincoln Children's Books and am voluntarily leaving a review.
#ANaturalHistoryofMermaids #NetGalley
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P.S: There’s no upper age limit for this book. Grab it if you like mermaids. ;)

An encyclopedia about mermaids written in partial epistolary form.

The illustrations were wonderfully done. However, some of the letters were hard to read on the papyrus style paper.

Quite inclusive for something fiction.

A must for every mermaid lover in your life.
From the Mermaid Life Cycle (varies from geological location and species of course) to their habitats, this non fiction book will answer all their questions. The images are beautiful and really bring the words to life.

Great read