The Little Mermaid (Step into Reading, Step 4)

This is a good book--My 8 year old daughter likes it and can read most of it herself. She likes that it has a few short chapters as well. Again, good book-- fantastic. I recommend it!

My son should enjoy reading this as he gets older. I read it as a child and it still holds up well.

I read this book when I was 8 years old and was so happy I found it for my niece to read as well with her Mom. It’s the original Hans Christian Andersen version/story. Absolutely beautiful illustrations. The original stories though darker taught me a lot growing up. I believe they helped shape me into a better person. I will read the original stories to my children, as my parents did to me.

This book teaches daughters all the wrong things. She stalks the prince. She changes herself for him enduring extreme pain with every step just to be with him. When the witch is going to take her voice, she makes the mermaid body conscious by telling her "you will still have your beautiful body." Plus it talks about souls and how only people have souls and if he loves her enough that she could be granted a soul. So much dependence on making herself loved by him... Then later she is given a knife to murder the prince and instead takes her own life. That's right, "oh no he loves someone else, I must kill myself because my world is over!" Then she goes to heaven and sees the Angels, but they call them something different, the children of the sky. I don't like the religiousness of the book. Plus if you kill yourself don't you go to purgatory or hell or something? I am not religious but I am pretty sure this is sending your kids the wrong message if you are choosing to raise them that way. This book has zero positive messages and supports a focus on self image that I am trying to keep my kids away from. These are not themes for first and second graders.

Very good book

Terrible. The mermaid falls in love with a human at first sight, and asks a witch to make her human so she can have a chance with him. She gives up her voice, her talent and her whole family. The witch tells her that every step she takes will be like stepping on knives. He ends up marrying someone else and the little mermaid considers killing him with a knife. In the end she decides to spare his life and instead she dies. She loses her whole family, her talents and her life for some inconsequential guy she’s never even met. Dark, sad, scary and problematic in every way. On the last page she comes as a ghost/angel to kiss his forehead while he sleeps next to his new wife!

Bought this for my five-year-old daughter and was horrified, to say the least, when we turned to the page revealing this type of violence —in a children’s book!?? Really? Why? Especially in today’s society, you would think that authors would be more sensitive to this type of content, Let alone this type of content in the age range 5 through 8!? I am so upset about this exposure to mu daughter. I had to spend the next several minutes assuaging her alarm and sadness. the fact that this has the word “killing” “blood” A WEAPON!! (a knife) and suggestive violence should be reason enough to stop print and sales on this!! PARENTS BEWARE! Kids Have the rest of their lives to be exposed to violence, no thank you to have them start at age 5!!!!!!

I loved sharing this favorite childhood story with my children

I was thrilled to finally find the book I had as a child, yes it’s not the fairytale book a lot of the reviewers were hoping for but that’s because they didnt read the description that this book is the ORIGINAL by Hans Christian Anderson. I would have suggested the reviewers that left bad reviews to have done their research first before buying, as this isn’t Disney.

I has this book when I was a child and I wanted to give a copy to my nephew. Top quality and speedy delivery!