The Mermaid and the Shoe

By K. G. Campbell

Each of King Neptune’s 50 mermaid daughters boasts a special talent, except for little Minnow, who seems to be good only
at asking questions. When she finds a strange object, Minnow follows her questions to a wondrous place and finds answers, including the answer to the most important question of all: Who am I? A gorgeously illustrated story about finding one’s purpose.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kids Can Press
• Release date: Apr 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9781771381802

Book preview

���1^book_preview_excerpt.html

Reviews for The Mermaid and the Shoe

[jw · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Nice pictures and wonderful story, a great storybook for any age

[abigailadams26 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Unlike the forty-nine other daughters of King Neptune, little Minnow had no extraordinary gifts, or special skills. She wasn't a talented singer like her sister Calypso, or a gifted gardener like Clio. What she was, was a mermaid with lots of questions. Where did the bubbles go, she wondered, and why didn't crabs have fins? When the warm surface current brought Minnow an odd red object that she could not identify, she set out to the edge of the underwater kingdom to investigate. In the process she learnt, not just what the red thing was, but what she was born to do: ask questions, explore, and share what she had learned with others...Clearly inspired by such fairy-tales as The Little Mermaid, by Hans Christian Andersen, K.G. Campbell's The Mermaid and the Shoes is a beautifully-told and beautifully-illustrated story, one with plenty of enchantment, but also lots of heart. Family dynamics, in the form of sibling rivalry, play a role, but the main thrust of the story seems to be the age-old questions of what we are doing here, and what we are meant to do with our lives. Minnow's sense of purposelessness, her feeling that she is somehow not as worthy as her sisters, echo the insecurities that many children experience, and those young people will find a person with whom to identify, in this little mermaid. The artwork, done in pencil and watercolor, is absolutely lovely, capturing the deep and subtle colors of Minnow's underwater world, and the beauty and majesty of its inhabitants. My favorite two page spread is the one (half captured on the cover) in which Minnow swims upward with the shoe, asking the massive octopus in front of her what it may be. A beautiful book, one I would recommend to all young fairy-tale lovers, especially those searching for mermaid stories.

[lschwarzman_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

When I started this story, it seemed that it was just a retelling of another familiar mermaid tale. But soon it became the story of Minnow and how she found her purpose in life, and won King Neptune's praise in spite of a mean sister. The illustrations are also stunning and provide a great deal to the story.

[angieshere · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Read as an ARC from Netgalley----

Very reminiscent of Han Christian Anderson fairy tales. I love the softly done illustrations. My girls would have enjoyed this one when they were growing up.

[athena.j · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The genre of this book is fantasy. Minnow is the youngest mermaid of her sisters, and seemingly has no talent in anything. Plus, she always asks questions about everything. One day, an object floated down to Minnow, and she had no idea what it was. She was bound to found out, and she swam all the way to the surface of the ocean, asking all the creatures as she went what the strange object was. Then, she saw a horrifying creature on the shore, with two of the objects on the ends of her legs, and learned that they were called "shoes", and in those shoes were another set of hands! Minnow couldn't wait to get home to tell her family all about what she had discovered. Her father finally told her her talent: exploring.

[sullywriter_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

One of King Neptune's 50 mermaid daughters finds a red shoe but what can a mermaid do with a shoe?

[zzshupinga · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

ARC provided by NetGalleyAll of King Neptune’s 50 beautiful mermaid daughters has a special talent. Clio who is an excellent gardner, Thetis who can train any fish, Calypso and her singing and so on. Except...for the King’s youngest daughter Minnow. She only seems to be good at asking questions that drive everyone nuts! One day though, Minnow finds a strange object floating in the sea. In an attempt to find out what it is, she follows it to a most wondrous place and finds the answer to not only what the object is...but the most important question ever: Who am I? And the answer may just surprise you.This is the perfect book for young and old alike. Minnow is one of the best characters I’ve read in a very long time. In this first place she shows us that it’s important to never ever give up, even when things are hard or others tease and poke fun at you. Minnow knows that it’s important to search far and wide, ask questions, and keep asking. And that maybe, just maybe you’ll find the answer to the question you weren’t even looking for...such as what you are meant to be. My heart though is stuck on the beautiful illustrations. Soft pastels with vivid greens and blues capture the swirling nature of the undersea world and the soft luminescence and beauty of Minnow, King Neptune, and his daughters. The images will keep readers enchanted page after page, particularly when Minnow reveals what humans look like. Their expressions of shock as they realize that we have to make do without graceful fins is fantastic.I’d give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

[melodyreads · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

adventure and discovery, by a little girl mermaid

[lruano-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

King Neptune had fifty daughters who all had amazing talents and were beautiful mermaids. All except Minnow. She felt out of place and wasn’t really good at anything except asking questions and being curious. One day she found a red thing she was so curious to find out what it was. She asked her sisters, the sea creatures, and anyone she could find. Finally, when she was about to give up she saw this little girl who went out with these red things on her legs. The girl’s mother told the little girl to take off her shoes, so the girl took off the red things and put her legs in the water she saw the girl’s feet and was very curious about them but she had sort of realized what they were. After, she swam back to the kingdom to tell everyone what she had learned. She told them her amazing adventure and that the red things she had found were shoes. That moment her father told her what she was. Minnow was his explorer. This is a really cute story because it shows you how we may not fit in some places or in some things we do but there is always something special we can all do because everyone is unique in their own way.

[Melissa Andrade · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Adorable and amazing art that is creative and showcases the watery depths perfectly! Mermaid lovers will be tickle coral pink with this story.