Kirkus Review

A guide to watery habitats and their residents. Definitively making the point that mermaids can be found anywhere there is water--even a little, or for a little while--Martin depicts dozens of types, each linked to a specific (real) locale and arranged by their favored habitats, from deep ocean abyssal zones to shallow desert pools, hot springs to swimming pools. Martin notes 11 species that dwell in wetlands alone, including residents of both fresh and saltwater marshes as well as mangrove swamps, bayous, baygall bogs, freezing wetlands, and ciénagas. There are male merfolk, the author admits, but she sticks to the feminine term. To assist young nature detectives, each mermaid is posed in a natural setting along with selected specimens of wildlife that share the same habitat. As mermaids are great mimics, they tend to resemble their wild companions, and so along with displaying individual adornments and embellishments, they are each as distinctive looking as the accurately rendered fish, marine mammals, reptiles, and other not-so-mythical creatures on view. Moreover, enlightening discussions of mermaid behaviors and environmental concerns mingle with general questions and activities suitable for any encounters with nature. Readers will come away uniquely prepared to find and identify these elusive creatures as well as the vast array of aquatic niches they (putatively) inhabit. An indispensable, encyclopedic resource for nature quests--mythological or otherwise. (Fantasy. 11-15) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.