This book is poorly constructed (physical binding) and is made of cheap paper. The illustrations are not very good, and often do not even depict the story accurately. Two examples are when 1) the story says a mermaid has legs, yet the illustration is of a mermaid with the usual fin and 2) the story says a character has tattoos on his face, yet the illustration does not depict them. The characters in the illustrations also look like stock white faces, regardless of the origin of the story.

For a much better book, both in binding and illustration, I would recommend Mermaid Tales from Around the World by Mary Pope Osborne. The pictures are large and colorful in that book, emulating the style of the area of the world from which the story comes.
Don't waste your money on Serenade of Mermaids.

Originally, I'm not really sure why I purchased this book... I didn't exactly have my heart set on reading this book, but it was cheap and didn't look bad. When the book arrived, it turned out to be quite a pleasant surprise.

Unlike other mermaid collections I've read, this one is actually addressed to the little girls who are interested in mermaids, but not so simple as to turn off collecters and scholars. Before each tale is a small summary of information about merfolk in various cultures to set the background for the tale. Nothing extraordinary, but it's kind of nice to get some mermaid trivia. Best of all, the author makes an attempt to get stories from a wide variety of places; there is a story from Switzerland as well as Japan!

I strongly recommend this collection, for it can be enjoyed by anyone.

this book is great for anyone who likes mermaids and a good myth my favorites were about romance of human and merfolk I loved it my favorite mermaid book I have read and believe me I have read alot the pictures were really life like and the book is cheap I just could'nt put it down I would suggest this book for anyone that can read

In classical mythology the figure of Atalanta stands alone as the mortal woman who could hold her own with almost any mortal man. Shirley Climo retells the ancient story of how King Iasus of Arcadia prayed to Zeus for a son to inherit his throne. When a daughter, Atalanta, was born instead he ordered the infant to be abandoned on a mountain. The baby was saved from death, first by a mother bear and then by a hunter. On the side of the mountain Atalanta learned to run swifter than the stags and was almost as good with a bow as the goddess Artemis.

Climo does not tell of Atalanta's participation in the famous Calydonian boar hunt spoken of in the "Iliad," although we do hear of her prowess at the Olympic games (there is an author's note at the end talking about the Olympic games as well). Instead Climo focuses on the story of Atalanta and the golden apples. Restored to her place as the princess of Arcadia, Atalanta is ordered to marry a suitor but she will do so only on her own terms: she will marry any man that can beat her in a footrace, while the penalty for losing to her will be death. Atalanta defeats all those who dare to race her until a young Greek warrior named Melanion accepts the challenge. He is aided by the goddess Aphrodite, who things Atalanta needs to be taught a lesson about the power of love. The goddess gives Melanion three golden apples and tells him how to use them to win the race.

"Atalanta's Race" is illustrated by Alexander Koshkin, who manages to evoke a sense of the ancient frescoes from which we have taken many images of the classical myths. Atalanta is an important figure in mythology because she is obviously the one mortal women with whom most young female readers are going to be able to identify, more so than Antigone or Electra. Certainly the young students who read this book are not going to be interested in hearing the stories about Clytemnestra or Medea. The main thing is that "Atalanta's Race" will certainly achieve the goal of making mythology fascinating to young female readers.

The Irish Cinderlad is a continuation of Climo's journey in theCinderella folktales. Children can see how a boy can also be part ofthe Cinderella story. Educators can use this story to demonstrate thesimilarities between different cultures around the world. The illustrations in this book continue with the high standards set in the other "Cinderella" stories in this series.

On one level I enjoyed this picture book-- the story is engaging, the illustrations are rich, vibrant, and seem to jump off the page, and it's apparent that the author did some research before writing this book. However, on another level, I was offended by the subtle racist undertones of one Westerner's portrayal of an "ethnic" Cinderella story. The feel of the story is "exotic"-- indeed, the story begins: "Long ago in Korea, when magical creatures were as common as cabbages..."

(The exotic East as seen through the eyes of the West-- and so the story continues.)
The illustrations, while they try to be faithful to the feel of traditional Korea, also exude a subtle racist undertone-- the illustrator clearly does not know how to draw Asian faces. The facial features are distorted and the eyes are too slanted. The illustrator drew from her perception of what Asian faces should look like-- yellow skin, slanted eyes-- and exaggerated these features.

I'd rather read a Korean Cinderella story written and illustrated by a Korean writer and illustrator.

As a sidenote-- Shirley Climo and Ruth Heller have also written/illustrated an Egyptian Cinderella. I have many of the same complaints with this story as well. Once again, there are racist undertones in both the story and the illustrations.

As a second sidenote-- if you're looking for an "ethnic" Cinderella story, _Yen-Shen: A Cinderella Story from China_ is excellent. It is a retelling of the first recorded Cinderella story (written some time during 618-907 AD). Thus, as the forward states: "Cinderella seems to have made her way to Europe from Asia."

This is one of the longest text versions of the Cinderella story I have ever come across. It is a wonderful telling of the tale, and works nicely to illustrate how this tale is part of many cultures the world over. I can't speak to the accuracy of the details of Korean culture, but the artwork is fascinating. Due to length of the story, however, I tend to wonder how well it would hold younger children's attention. It works well, though, for illustrating cultural difference to college students.

A delightful retelling of a story that is found in many cultures. This book is beautifully illustrated with examples of traditional Korean architecture and clothing.

The cover of this book is beautiful, but like the old saying: "Don't judge a book by it's cover." I was disappointed that the book told of tales of "sea" related entities not just "mermaids". This book lacked the visual effect that I was hoping to obtain from a "fantasy" book. Unlike the exhilarating book, "Mermaids: Nymph of the Sea", A Treasury of Mermaid was lacking in graphics and story.