That's Not My Mermaid...

That's Not My...

by Fiona Watt, Rachel Wells (Illustrator)

Young readers may touch various surfaces on pictures of mermaids that are not the one someone is looking for, until the right picture appears.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Mermaids, Kids, Fiction, Fantasy

10 pages, Board Book

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Fiona Watt is an Editorial Director and writer at Usborne Publishing. She started working at Usborne in 1989 and has written and edited hundreds of books including baby and novelty, sticker, art and craft, cookery, science and activity books.
Fiona graduated from Exeter University with a B.Ed. (Hons.), specialising in Psychology and Art and Design. After university she worked as a researcher and writer for a company which published educational material for places where children went on school visits (zoos, museums, stately homes etc). She then taught seven, eight, and nine year olds for five years; three years at a state school in Sevenoaks in Kent, and two years at The British School in the Netherlands in The Hague.

Having joined Usborne in 1989, Fiona became an editorial director in 2003, largely responsible for writing baby and novelty books, as well as art and activity titles. She has written over 100 titles for Usborne Publishing, perhaps most notably the, ‘That’s not my ….‘ touchy-feely series.

Reviews

[retrometro (ocelot’s version)]

absolute classic

[coffeeandbook20 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like this book and read it to my daughter. She loves looking at the different colors and feeling the textures of the different things in the book.

[Faloni © · Rating 5 out of 5]

students in the classroom enjoy the sensory experience along with the ability to poke at crazy hair day LoL build a bridge; seriously guys !!

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute little board book for the youngest of Mermaid lovers.

[Tyler Piers · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you can find your mermaid it’s probably at Jerry’s Nuggets a popular place in the North Las Vegas area. God Bless.

[Freddie D · Rating 4 out of 5]

A strong contender for my favourite in this series. It has all the hallmark attributes of a That's Not My... book but with the added bonuses of sparkly fonts, lots of colour and even (at least in my edition) blue metallic fore-edge painting. Beautiful! I also LOVE the mirror at the end. As always with these books, it's exceptionally high quality. And babies and toddlers just love to see their own faces reflected back at them!
All the mermaids are thin and conventionally attractive...so there's probably a critique to be made there. But in the end, they're just cute cartoons and could also be applauded for ethnic diversity as each of the mermaids has a different skin colour.

[Mehsi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Een leuk boek over een persoon die een zeemeermin zoekt en haar niet kan vinden. Er komen verschillende zeemeerminnen langs maar ieder van hen heeft wel iets waardoor zij niet de zeemeermin is. Ik vond het erg leuk gedaan en ik had veel plezier in het voelen van de verschillende stukken. Ik weet dan ook zeker dat kinderen dit nog leuker gaan vinden, een leuk verhaal en leuke en schattige illustraties en lekker voelen.
Ik vond het einde een beetje jammer want dat is zoiets onorigineels. Ik had liever iets anders gezien. Ik gok dat kinderen het wel leuk vinden, maar ja, na zoveel boeken te hebben gezien ermee vond ik het toch jammer.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has great sensory words and is great for babies. Also, the touchy-feely pages help interest children in books. Look for the mouse on each page. Check out my page to purchase this book: www.ubah.com/s2995

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yay for the tactile features in the book. Boo for having mermaids as objects. I did not like the 'that's not my...' repetition for beautiful women. I was glad that my mommy friend agreed with me!

[R. · Rating 2 out of 5]

The kids love this series and my daughter loves mermaids, so she was especially thrilled to find this at the bookstore. Like the others, it repeats the "that's not my..." theme with a different characteristic and texture for each spread. The last one, of course, is the one they're looking for in the book. The textures can be repetitive, but the mix them up so they aren't in the same order.

[Ali Book&Seaglasshunter · Rating 3 out of 5]

The “That’s Not My...” series is a big hit for the youngest readers with the bright illustrations and fun to touch details. This one is a favorite in my house because mermaids are awesome! The touch elements include a bumpy hair clip, scaly tail, squashy necklace, fluffy hair, and mirror. It’s a decent array of sensory details, better than some of the other books.

[Jocelin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another cute entry in the "That's Not My" series. Mermaids are one of my fave fairytale characters.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interactive could be bigger!😀

[Lex Redding · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet but not my little boy's favourite.

[Stacey Bookerworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Very tactile and my little boy loved the mirror at the end

[LadyMegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

My daughter loves it

[Marsha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great series. We have read hundreds of times with our grandkids. The touchy feely aspect adds to the experience.

[Kylee Timmreck · Rating 2 out of 5]

3.5/10⭐️

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book, because it has interesting bits for me to touch.
I thought this was quite entertaining and original until mummy brought home 'That's not my Polar Bear', 'That's Not my Prince', and 'That's not my Duck'. Wile I still appreciate the mixed media, I think it's time for something new.

[Caity · Rating 5 out of 5]

The That's Not My series is really fun and adorable. The board books feature different textures that correspond with the illustrations. They are pretty short stories but are great fun for reading to little ones.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

The That's Not My series from Usborne is great for babies, toddlers and even early readers. Great touchy feely patches, thick outlines for little baby eyes, and repetitive text to help early readers!

[Jasmina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mijn dochter is er helemaal gek van, was leuk geweest als het hoofdpersonage zelf een kleurtje had. Beetje misleidend aan de cover. Maar toch heel leuk om eindelijk eens een bruine zeemeermin te zien in een kinderboek.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like all the "that's not my" books, this one is fun for the kiddos. Helps the young ones learn textures and has silly little lines. Fun for little ones.

[Katie Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

We just love these books in our house... now Kenzie has her very own!

[Opticalillusion · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect for little girls. With large word font and attractive colours. Currently trying to get my daughter to explore the feely bits.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

My daughters favorite book for a time. I love that each TNM book feeds my children's sensory needs.

[Kristen Jett]

We read the Spanish version - a couple of the word choices are odd (says my Spanish MIL), but a very cute read!

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

May 6, 2025 Review - 3 Stars
Still cute for kids but 4 Stars seems a bit much.

May 9, 2021 Review - 4 Stars
Very cute series for kids

[Lex Redding · Rating 4 out of 5]

My little babe loved this one.

[Weyland Jackson]

Mom read to me