The Little Mermaid (Pop-Up Classics)

I've never seen anything like it. I happened upon a Robert Sabuda pop up book quite by accident. The Wizard of Oz was for sale at my local discount store, brand new, for only $4. I expected nothing when I opened it up and was blown away by the in your face pop ups! They were amazing and there were plenty of them. They only had two copies and I could kick myself for only getting one. That was it for me. I was hooked. I instantly came to Amazon to look for this item and discovered I got quite a bargain. I also discovered that there are more! I now own The Wizard of Oz, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Alice in Wonderland...and The Little Mermaid (TLM). I love them all, but in my opinion The Little Mermaid is mesmerizing! I'm not child but these books transform me back to the little girl who loved pop up books! TLM is so stunning that my mouth hung open in awe. Even my husband was impressed by this book and asked me if I was going to get more. Four more are on the way as I type this. I have three granddaughters, ages 3 and 4, and I've shown them these books and the looks on their faces are priceless. However, they have been told they cannot touch because these books belong to grandma! They have a small library in my home so these won't be missed. I highly recommend these older children and adults!

This gorgeous book has the original version of the story, as written by Hans Christian Anderson. As a child I was haunted by The Little Mermaid. I imagined the beauty of her undersea world, felt terror at her plight, and wished in the most profound way possible that one day I'd wake up and find a little mermaid in my bathtub. When the Disney version came out, I was relieved that no more little girls would feel the Mermaid's pain of the clams on her tail, or the knives as she danced, or the hopelessness as she watched the Prince with his bride; but at the same time I knew the shadow cast by the old story was more true to the life I experienced as I grew up. The story is dark: a mermaid longs for an immortal soul, is put through an excruciating trial, and appears to lose everything in the end. It hints that the price of love and sexuality is unrelenting pain, and the only escape is cruelty or death. Should little children read this? I don't know. But the story can settle deeply into a young girl's bones. I am a huge fan of Sabuda. His pop-ups are extravagant and wildly colored, and this book is no exception. The side books are wonderfully inventive and intricate. No child could fail to be enchanted by the visions both dark and light in this book, nor any adult either. Some of the pop-ups are heavy and fragile, so be careful!

Got this for my eight year old niece. She loves it and we read it every time she comes over (which is often). The art is outstanding, and we both really love how the story doesn't go "...and she abandoned her family and her entire life to be with a guy she didn't even know! Yay!" Spoiler alert: First of all, the witch isn't necessarily a bad guy. She's a witch, so she's menacing, but she's not malicious. She doesn't go out of her way to make sure the mermaid loses her humanity. The witch's actions are, in their entirety, "mermaid wants to make a deal, so we make one." So in the end, when the mermaid freaking dies, she dies because the prince found another princess he had to marry *because he's a prince and that's how that kind of thing works.* His attitude is something like "yeah, I wish I could marry you, but...meh. We don't really know each other, and also I have to marry royalty." It's a thousand times better, and it's not even that depressing. Apparently merpeople don't have souls and just turn into seafoam when they die (enjoy your next trip to the beach), but because this mermaid wanted a soul, when she dies she turns into air or something and gets to hang out with all the other air or something people. That part is kind of weird, what with the soul not being the mermaid's primary goal, but whatever. It's still awesome.

The book was absolutely fantastic and a great gift. The artwork is lovely and the story itself is a classic. At first some of the popup artwork seemed to be getting stuck, but after working our way through the book several times, that issue resolved itself. The first time reading this book, I would recommend being very gentle with it. Look for any place that might get caught and DO NOT slam the pages down to move onto the next page. Sometimes I found it was easier to close the entire book and then move onto the next page. It really is magnificent if you take the time to enjoy it. I read this book to a five year old girl and she was hypnotized. The popups are brilliant. The story is magical. Worth every penny!

Recieved the book in good condition. Packing could be better.

I read this to my 6-year-old daughter tonight. It was a psychologically twisted tale with nothing but abject tragedy at the end. I am stunned that this was published. Half an hour after lights out I heard my daughter crying in her bedroom. I talked to her about the story and tried to help her through what she had experienced in this miserable book. I hope she gets to sleep and doesn’t suffer nightmares. Do not buy this book is my only advice, no matter your age. Somebody at Simon and Schuster should be disciplined over the publication of this nasty book.

La serie di questi libri è semplicemente spettacolare, una collezione da avere assolutamente.

Excelente livro pop up. As ilustrações não são as que eu mais gosto, embora sejam imediatamente reconhecíveis na autoria.

Eh maravilhoso e veio em perfeitas condições