The Fish Prince and Other Stories [Hardcover]

Jane Yolen (Author), Shulamith Levey Oppenheim (Author), Paul Hoffman (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2001

Mermen? Yes. Long before mermaids emerged to people our inner seas, long before they established their restless, inviting niche in human fantasy, there was the merman. Born of the human need to dominate the great fruitful oceans, to control the vast destructive seas, to regulate the healing rains, to understand the tides, the merman emerged.

The merman was water personified. The imposing water gods could be wheedled, cozened, implored, but-in the end-they were never fooled. How often were Poseidon or Neptune, Lir, Njord and the rest pictured riding the waves along inhospitable shores, shaking their magical tridents or spears or fists at the weak, imploring humans on land? The sea gods called up storms or quieted waves. They flooded the lands. They drowned the unwary.

Yet despite the importance of early fish-tailed gods such as Ea-Enki and Dagon; despite the preponderance of mermen in the mythologies of Babylon, Greece, the British Isles, the Scandinavian peninsula, Germany; despite the mermen ranging along Slavic shores and inland seas; despite the mermen found in Chinese and Japanese lakes, along Polynesian island coasts, and in the lore and literature of the Middle East, the merman has become Legend's Forgotten Man. With its 27 stories from around the world, this volume reconstructs the unnatural history of the Merman.

AUTHOR BIO: Jane Yolen is the author of over 200 books for children, young adults, and adults. Winner of the World Fantasy Award for her folk collection Favorite Folktales from around the World, she has authored a dozen other folklore collections, including Gray Heroes, Mirror, Mirror, Not One Damsel in Distress, and The Fairies' Ring. Her work has won the Nebula Award, the Caldecott Medal, three Mythopoeic Society Awards, the Jewish Book Award, five bodies of work awards, and been nominated for the National Book Award. She lives in Massachusetts and St. Andrews, Scotland.

Among Shulamith Oppenheim's many books are two fantasies, The Selchie's Seed and for adults, The World Invisible. Iblis, the retelling of the Islamic version of the Fall from Eden, was an ALA Notable for older children, 1994.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Gr. 7-12. The authors of this international collection point out that mermaids, with their long hair, bare breasts, and sexy ways, have gotten most of the folkloric attention. Mermen, on the other hand, are usually described as unattractive, and they are frequently more dangerous and malevolent than their female counterparts. This book collects their stories. Divided geographically, the chapters contain short descriptions of the various types of mermen found in fresh and saltwater locales, followed by actual mermen tales from each culture. The writing is graceful, fast moving, and entertaining throughout, avoiding the long-windedness that sometimes characterizes folktale collections. Back matter includes a glossary of gods of the sea and a comprehensive bibliography that will appeal to adult scholars of folklore as well as young people. Hoffman's handsome black-and-white prints illustrate the selections. Todd Morning
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Interlink Publishing Group (April 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566563895
• ISBN-13: 978-1566563895
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,593,711 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Born and raised in New York City, Jane Yolen now lives in Hatfield, Massachusetts. She attended Smith College and received her master's degree in education from the University of Massachusetts. The distinguished author of more than 170 books, Jane Yolen is a person of many talents. When she is not writing, Yolen composes songs, is a professional storyteller on the stage, and is the busy wife of a university professor, the mother of three grown children, and a grandmother. Active in several organizations, Yolen has been on the Board of Directors of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, was president of the Science Fiction Writers of America from 1986 to 1988, is on the editorial board of several magazines, and was a founding member of the Western New England Storytellers Guild, the Western Massachusetts Illustrators Guild, and the Bay State Writers Guild. For twenty years, she ran a monthly writer's workshop for new children's book authors. In 1980, when Yolen was awarded an honorary Doctor of Law degree by Our Lady of the Elms College in Chicopee, Massachusetts, the citation recognized that "throughout her writing career she has remained true to her primary source of inspiration--folk culture." Folklore is the "perfect second skin," writes Yolen. "From under its hide, we can see all the shimmering, shadowy uncertainties of the world." Folklore, she believes, is the universal human language, a language that children instinctively feel in their hearts. All of Yolen's stories and poems are somehow rooted in her sense of family and self. The Emperor and the Kite, which was a Caldecott Honor Book in 1983 for its intricate papercut illustrations by Ed Young, was based on Yolen's relationship with her late father, who was an international kite-flying champion. Owl Moon, winner of the 1988 Caldecott Medal for John Schoenherr's exquisite watercolors, was inspired by her husband's interest in birding. Yolen's graceful rhythms and outrageous rhymes have been gathered in numerous collections. She has earned many awards over the years: the Regina Medal, the Kerlan Award, the World Fantasy Award, the Society of Children's Book Writers Award, the Mythopoetic Society's Aslan Award, the Christopher Medal, the Boy's Club Jr. Book Award, the Garden State Children's Book Award, the Daedalus Award, a number of Parents' Choice Magazine Awards, and many more. Her books and stories have been translated into Japanese, French, Spanish, Chinese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Afrikaans, !Xhosa, Portuguese, and Braille. With a versatility that has led her to be called "America's Hans Christian Andersen," Yolen, the child of two writers, is a gifted and natural storyteller. Perhaps the best explanation for her outstanding accomplishments comes from Jane Yolen herself: "I don't care whether the story is real or fantastical. I tell the story that needs to be told."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An exciting, exotic, enthusiastically recommended anthology, October 10, 2001

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Fish Prince and Other Stories: Mermen Folk Tales (Paperback)

The Fish Prince And Other Stories: Mermen Folk Tales is an extensive anthology of folklore tales drawn from cultures around the world, and all of which are about the mermaid's masculine counterpart the more popular female image. From Russia to Mali and Chile, the stories herein embody a vast wealth of different cultures and traditions. Retold by the collaborative efforts of award-winning children's authors and folklorists Jane Yolen and Shulamith Oppenheim, The Fish Prince And Other Stories is an exciting, exotic, enthusiastically recommended anthology for anyone entranced by mythological and folklore legends of the seafolk!