Like most girls who grew up on stories and fairy-tales, I have always loved The Little Mermaid in all of its versions: animated, Hans Christian Andersen’s version, live action. Imagine my absolute delight when I saw this collection: an entire book dedicated to mermaid stories from all around the world.

The collection is divided by area of the world from which the story originated. Before each section, the editors, and other contributors, explain the mermaid’s role in each culture. Some mermaids were seen as villains who would lure you to a watery grave. Others represented womanhood itself and how men try to tame a woman through marriage.

And the way the mermaids appear depends on their culture as well. Some look more like dolphins while others look like snakes. The entire thing is so fascinating to me. The editors explain why this is this case. Most cultures where a body of water is a key part of their culture have legends or myths surrounding mermaids.

We can always look at the rational explanations for mermaids. There is speculation that, at least the Western idea of mermaids, is from drunk sailors seeing manatees and thinking they were sexy ladies. Which is possibly the best historical explanation that I’ve ever heard.

If you love mermaids and love learning about other cultures, then this is the book for you.