A Field Guide to Mermaids

by Emily B. Martin

A magical and lushly illustrated field guide to the mermaids that inhabit our ponds, streams and oceans, based on real ecological details―with a strong environmental focus―perfect for fans of The Magical Unicorn Society series.

A glimmer of fish scales.
A splash from a colorful fin.
The echo of a mysterious song across the water. . .

Few mythical creatures are more instantly recognizable or more mysterious than mermaids. Whether seen perched on a rock at the water’s edge or spied only as a dim outline beneath the waves, mermaids have long fascinated sailors, scientists, storytellers, and surprised onlookers alike.

Now, for the first time, thanks to dedicated research and a hint of magic, comes A Field Guide to Mermaids , introducing the many species of mermaids native to the United States. With an eye toward the preservation of our natural habitats, Emily B. Martin shares the never-before-told stories of the mermaids who share our waters in this enchanting and beautifully illustrated guidebook.

Genres: Fantasy, Mermaids, Childrens, Middle Grade, Mythology, Juvenile, Graphic Novels

144 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2022

About the author

Park ranger by summer, stay-at-home mom the rest of the year, I am also a freelance artist and illustrator. An avid hiker and explorer, my experiences as ranger helped inform the character of Mae and the world of WOODWALKER.

When not patrolling places like Yellowstone, the Great Smoky Mountains, or Philmont Scout Ranch, I live in South Carolina with my husband, Will, and two daughters, Lucy and Amelia.

Reviews

[Bella Sun · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is very beautiful illustrated. The text reads as if it’s a real scientific field guide about mermaids.

The mermaids are given such a real and detailed account of where they live, why they live there, how they survive, and other details such as food.

This book also focuses a lot on conservation and other environmental issues.

If you’re looking for a more whimsical book on mermaids that has some magic in it this isn’t the book for you. I was hoping for more whimsy and magic.

Overall, if you know what this book is about and that it’s more like a science book and that excites you then pick it up! The art alone makes it a worthwhile purchase.

[Beth Cato · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an advance copy of this book via Netgalley.

A Field Guide to Mermaids is an intelligent, gorgeous book, one that will be beloved by the intended middle grade audience but also dazzle adults. It sure dazzled me. Martin has worked for years as a park ranger, and her breadth of knowledge on ecology and biology added insight to her previous novels for adults; here, in this fantasy book written as a nonfiction field guide to mermaids as found on contemporary Earth, her expertise and incredible artistic skill are in the forefront.

The subject is regarded with absolute seriousness. Mermaids are discussed in terms of the types of tails they have and why these features would matter in their environment, what nearby creatures they resemble and work with in symbiosis, and how they have changed due to industrialization and pollution. The book is divided by the types of water bodies in which mermaids may be found. Every page is lavishly illustrated. The variety of perspectives and the rainbow of colors are a delight to the eyes. In all truth, most every page here would be a joy to have framed on a wall.

The book also delights the mind. Martin whips out advanced terminology in ecology and trusts that kids will get it--and they will. Martin's mermaids are based on the sound science of existing creatures. I learned some handy new words for defining different characteristics, and I imagine most people will finish this book feeling the same.

[Sydnie Nova]

In this beautifully illustrated gem of a book, Emily B. Martin has written her story in a new genre in this fantasy book disguised as a non fiction field guide to different types of merfolk. The illustrations are breathtaking and the descriptions are dazzling and make ecological sense, while still appealing to the imaginative brain and filling your mind with the "what if" of it all.
*I received an advanced readers copy from Netgalley but all opinions are my own*

[Maris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I *adored* this. It deserves to become wildly popular with the bookish community. What a fun way to learn about ecosystems, aquatic life, etc. Gorgeous artwork.

[Shae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Obsessed. Absolutely, wholeheartedly obsessed.

(Also, the quiz in the back ALONE was worth the price of admission. I'm a kettle bog mermaid and so so pleased.)

[Danielle Palmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was drawn to this book for the wonderful illustrations. I was pleasantly surprised that it actually contained quite a bit of scientific information regarding geology, ecology, etc. I have a biology degree, and there were some species in here I was not aware of - looking at you American Dipper (North America’s only aquatic songbird)and Darter (tropical looking freshwater fish)! There is quite a diversity of body types used, including an amputee mermaid! I loved the attention to detail in the illustrations, such as the Washington DC mermaid having random treasures such as keys, a pen, and a “vote” pin as decoration. I love that the author is a national parks ranger, and that she took her two daughter’s opinions seriously and included their ideas. A gem of a book!

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully illustrated guide to mermaids that floats between fact and fiction. I found myself learning about the ocean while reading about mermaids! The illustrations are beautiful and the mermaids are just as diverse as their environments and the creatures they are based off of! There’s even a cute quiz at the end to determine what type of mermaid the reader is (I’m either a swamp or shipwreck mermaid!).

[Lauren Hegedus · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely adored this book and could probably rave about it for hours. Not only does this book do a phenomenal job of showing how merfolk can also be diverse, but is actually INCREDIBLY informative about the water ecosystems in the US. Truly what a fun way to encourage an interest in protecting our water systems. SO SO good.

[Jadelyn Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lavishly illustrated in delightful ecological detail, A Field Guide to Mermaids is a must for every library--public and home! Mermaids in the desert? Wondrous!! Glacial mermaids--divine! Hear the siren song and read this wise field guide over and over again.

[Claire Wrobel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning illustrations and beautiful imagination.

[elif sinem · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so charming and informative! I loved it so much. This would have been my favorite book as a child.

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Field Guide to Mermaids is a stunning book addressing conservation through mermaids. Not only does this book have BEAUTIFUL illustrations, it has some great facts about real plants and animals (sans mermaids) and gives good advice on how to observe wildlife and their environment.

The author does an amazing job merging classic mermaid lore and new information about all the different kinds of mermaids, like they live in all kinds of water systems and look different to adapt to their environment, mimicking real-life wildlife that live there.

This book is not just for the mermaid fans; it is for art fans, conservationists, and wildlife enthusiasts.

[Beka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this take on mermaids. The author is a park ranger and has worked across the United States in various national parks, and this clearly influenced the book. As the title suggests, it is written in the style of a field guide, and the various habitats have mermaids that often mimic other animals that naturally occur in that environment. It’s got great conservation messages and themes for kids, and the artwork is beautiful. I only wish the author would write another books with mermaids based on habitats from other continents! But there is plenty of variety in this book and I loved how creative she was with the mermaid designs and how they interact with their environment.

[Luisa Downey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the book sections that focused on the mermaids, but I felt like the moments when it deviated from that made the book lose a bit of its magic. I wished there was more description of the mermaids and possible special abilities they could have. I think there were a lot of opportunities to make this book very magical, and it wasn't taken.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a beautiful and fun book! I love the real-world ecology and the obvious thought put into the mermaids that live in each place. The ecosystems chosen to highlight were an especially lovely surprise - pocosins and the midnight zone of the oceans don't get nearly enough love. It was great to see them both talked about in the book!

[Ezra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is almost exactly what it says on the tin with just a bit more thrown in. It is a field guide to mermaids, but also a guide to what animals and plants live in different water (ponds, lakes, marshes, rivers, oceans, deep sea, etc.) and how pollution, global warming, and general human interference are changing the world we live in.

A good introduction for kids to nature and conservation while adding in mermaids to make it even more fun and exciting. Having questions for kids to ask and think about as they read each section, as a way for them to think about the actual environments that exist was also something I liked in making it scientific + fantasy. The way it brings together fiction and nonfiction is fascinating. This is exactly the kind of book I would have loved as a kid (and loved now as an adult) and I wish we had it now for our Summer Reading Program since the theme is Oceans of Possibilities.

The added table at the back so you could discover what kind of mermaid you would be (I got a Flatwater River mermaid) was an added fun activity as well.

I also thought the way that mermaids that could inhabit the area near the Mariana's Trench were very cool, having just read Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant (not a book I would recommend to children, but do recommend for adults who like a horror take on mermaids), they were very close to how I would have pictured the "mermaids" in that book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for making this available in exchange for an honest review!

[Haley Kilgour · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m am absolutely amazed and astounded by just how amazing this book is. Not only is it fiction but it reads as nonfiction. this book is both great for kids and adults.

I was a marine biologist myself one of the first things I noticed was the absolute amazing attention to detail on ecosystems. The second thing I noticed was the absolutely amazing attention detail to conservation. But disregarding these two things there was also a good amount of detail on geography and Geo physical aspects of the environment.

Now let’s go to the artwork. Most of the artwork was spectacularly done. The drawings are amazing the colors are amazing there’s really nothing I hated about it. And the other amazing thing I noticed was that there were mermaids that were plus size I even noticed a mermaid that was maybe not an amputee but had been born with a defect and only had an arm up to about the elbow. So this book was incredibly diverse and that was something I really appreciated.

however on the same note with the artwork my only complaint is that in a few select cases it wasn’t immediately obvious what animal the mermaid for that page or section was meant to mimic in this did happen very often but it did happen and I see this as a marine biologist myself.

Overall I would recommend this book to anyone who is obsessed with mermaids anyone who loves the ocean anyone issue loves conservation and environmentalism or any of just any of those subjects.

[Wafflepirates · Rating 5 out of 5]

*Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review*

You can tell the author is a park ranger, because this reads just like a guide you might get when going to a national park or hiking trails. Part guide, part fantasy-inspired wildlife encyclopedia, this book takes a look at mermaids as if writing a nonfiction guide book. There's information about the environments you can find them in (basically anywhere with water) as well as what wildlife is seen around them, and how to seeking out these locations in an environmentally conscious way. The focus is on areas of the United States where mermaids live, and each area comes with its own brief description of the location and type of mermaid, as well as an illustration of the mermaid in that setting. The drawings are beautiful, and so fun to look at. There's a lot of creativity that went into this book (there's pages for a hot springs mermaid and one that lives in puddles in the desert, among others) and it's obvious the author took a factual approach when creating her mermaids, since all of the designs are perfectly suited for the area discussed. I loved this, it's a short book, but packed with info and fantastic illustrations.

[Danielle T · Rating 5 out of 5]

[disclosure: I was in college marching band with Emily during undergrad, so like, I know her!]

Gorgeously illustrated and based on sound ecology for aquatic habitats, A Field Guide to Mermaids should ignite the curiosity of children and adults alike. While aimed at a middle grade audience, A Field Guide acts as a general overview and introduction to thinking about habitats: what does something need to live in an environment? Are there specialist functions needed to thrive?

I really like how there's an assortment of mermaids for each habitat, from tiny nudibranch merfolk in tide pools to mysterious giant squid cryptids in the abyssal depths!

As a kid who constantly looked for evidence of lake monsters after reading The Field Guide to Lake Monsters, Sea Serpents, and Other Mystery Denizens of the Deep, this reminds me of a fantastical way to learn and think about the natural world.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Field Guide to Mermaids by Emily B. Martin is an incredibly insightful and magical read. Using gorgeous illustrations and her knowledge of our different aquatic ecosystems, Martin created a book that is an exciting learning tool. It is important to not that this is not a traditional "story." It is descriptions of different aquatic environments on our Earth, and what mermaids look like there (as if they were real).
Any young reader who is interested in either the environment or mermaids will be interested in this. It would be such a beautiful physical book to own. The illustrations were so eyecatching and detailed. You can learn a significant amount about our world's different aquatic environments, the creatures that live there, and interesting facts about lesser known creatures (like bioluminescent fish).
I think this would be a super fun addition to any young reader's library, as well as in schools.

[Kris Sellgren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a delightful fantasy book with wonderful illustrations. Martin takes the premise that mermaids exist, then writes a serious field guide to observing mermaids in the wild with this assumption. Martin's experience as a forest ranger imbues the text, with the sort of questions a child is asked to think about on a nature walk. How is this watery environment, say a stream in a forest, different from a wetland, or a river in a desert, or a Great Lake? What kinds of animals will you see? What plants grow? What would mermaids eat? What can we as humans do to reduce the pollution of this location? The mermaid fantasy blends seamlessly with what could easily be a real field guide to what lives in the boiling pools in Yosemite or the coral reefs of Hawaii or Florida. Martin postulates that mermaids take on the coloring of the fish around them, and illustrates both the fish and the mermaid, along with the other things growing there. The art is wonderful.

[Susie Salazar · Rating 5 out of 5]

*I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley*

As a former science teacher and lover of science fiction and fantasy books, this book would’ve been one of the best for child me to have been able to read.

I absolutely loved the cover and art work throughout the book, and the world of mermaids Ms. Martin was able to build. I appreciate the amount of imagination that went into giving these mermaids life and how the books reads like a nonfiction book, making you feel like these mermaids are real, and I can go to the closest body of water to find one or two.

I love that there are vocabulary words as well, and that it mentions protecting our ecosystems and our waterways. Overall I thought this book was a great read, and I am sure many children will enjoy reading and “learning” about these mermaids.

[Brietta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely adore this book!!! It is a perfect blend of two of my favorite things; science and fantasy.
It's a very creative way of teaching about aquatic ecosystems and encouraging environmental awareness and responsibility as well as sparking joy and and whimsy.
I learned a lot about science and nature and enjoyed the magic as well.

The art is breathtakingly beautiful and I'm impressed with the diversity in the mermaids. Not only do their tails resemble a wide variety of species, but their human sides appear in a large array of shapes, sizes, colors, and even a few disabilities.
Especially as a fantasy artist myself, I am so excited to see someone else also bringing the diversity to fantasy art that's been largely absent for a long time.

[Ashley Carter · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a fun and unique book this is! If you are a fan of mermaids, folklore, or mythological creatures, this book is worth a snag. This book covers anything and everything you would want to know about mermaids, specifically in the United States, such as: anatomy, life cycle, habitats, and the species of mermaids in each habitat.

This book is a great book to randomly flip through, and the folklore and photos inside are well done. I especially like the details on how mermaids are adapted specifically to their environment, so all mermaids are definitely not the same!

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

[Juli Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't sure what to expect with this one, but I was very pleasantly surprised! This is, more than a book of fantasy creatures, a survey of aquatic ecology through the fanciful lens of mermaids. There is so much good science here (about concepts like bioluminescence, estuaries, polynyas, etc.), all richly seasoned with good old-fashioned magic and charismatic illustrations. The organization of the information was excellent and the emphasis on observation and asking questions was engaging without ever feeling didactic. A true treasure on this topic.

[Lavender Hal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I had this book during the mermaid phase I had when I was twelve.

This book gives a lot of details on basic mermaid biology along with informing you about several individual habitats that mermaids may live in and how they've adapted to them. Each page is a different environment, and they're accompanied with beautiful illustrations of both the environment itself and the mermaids living there who mimic the appearances of the native fish.

Basically, if you have a mermaid obsession, this is the book for you.

[Ashley Stangl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why did this book not exist when I was a kid? I would have adored this. I adore it now, of course; it has beautiful artwork, fascinating science facts, and worldbuilding that could support an intricate and imaginative fantasy world. It's a rare book that can legitimately be shelved as both fantasy and non-fiction, and this is an ideal blend of both, sparking the imagination by showing us just how marvelously fantastical our real-life natural world really is.

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so good! It actually reminded me of 3 fanfictions from Archive of Our Own: HodgePodge by Blizzardwing47, The Fragility of Foam by blingbland, and Yuuei Marine Sanctuary and Rehabilitation Center by MagicMysticFantasy.

I also thought this was a good book to learn about scientific processes about environmental sciences. Even though I wished there was a bibliography for the scientific terms and other related information.

Verdict: This was really good!

[Suzan Ball · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Field Guide to Mermaids

The gorgeous, intricately illustrated volume must be seen in print to be fully appreciatied: the pictures are truly outstanding, The combination of fact and fantasy is fascinating . The author makes the existence of these magical creatures plausible. Also.we are given a reason and motive to preserve and protect these microenvironments.

This is a great book for children and adults.

[Tibbara's Den · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ecology meets fantasy. I loved everything about this book. I enjoyed how it showed what kind of mermaids would be in different habitats and what kind of creatures they would share those habitats with. I enjoyed the activities at the end. It is such a fun book for all ages, but also a great way for adults to open up a conversation with children about protecting the environment and the animals within in a fun and whimsical way.