Magical fairy stories about mermaids captivate our littlest readers from day one. The idea of an entire world underwater and a body half-covered in scales mesmerizes readers. We've collected books about mermaids for your youngest readers, your middle-grade chapter book readers, and even your young adult readers. Dive in with thirty children's books about mermaids!
Young Readers (1-8 Years Old)
1. Mermaid Dreams
When Maya visits the beach with her family, she's too shy to say hello to the nearby kids so she sits alone watching from a distance. Then, she falls asleep and wakes up in an underwater dream filled with many new creature friends and Maya is a real mermaid!
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2. Mermaids Mermaids in the Sea
This mermaid board book has magical creatures and beautiful words on every page. Your children will love this diverse cast of mermaids. This book even teaches your littles how to draw their own mermaid. It's the perfect book for ages one to six.
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3. Once Upon a World - The Little Mermaid
In this fairy tale classic retelling, our little mermaid is living in the Caribbean. She must convince the prince to love her too if she wants to stay human. This book offers a bit of diversity and culture to our typical favorite mermaid story.
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4. Mermaids Fast Asleep
This beautiful picture book is the perfect addition to your bedtime story time. Discover what bedtime for mermaids is like and how they sleep with the lyrical text from Robin Riding.
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5. Bubble Kisses
A young girl has a magical pet fish, Sal. Sal is able to transform the young girl into a mermaid with just a few bubble kisses. Together the two play, sing, and dance underwater. Enjoy the book with an original song from singer Vanessa Williams.
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6. Lola: The Bracelet of Courage
Lola the mermaid needs help finding her courage! When she loses her courage bracelet, she'll have to dig deep and find the courage within herself if she wants to find her way home.
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7. Mabel: A Mermaid Fable
Rowboat Watkins shares a story about being true to yourself. Mabel and Lucky are very different from everyone else. When they find each other, they discover true friendship doesn't care about how you look.
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8. Where Do Mermaids Go on Vacation
The mermaids are ready for a vacation. On their fabulous adventure, they may encounter pirate ships and treasure chests, but first, they have to decide where to go! If your little is a mermaid fan, they'll love this creative book!
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9. Mermaid School
Molly is the happiest mermaid in mermaid school! Join her on her first day of school and follow along as she makes new friends. This book will help your littles prepare for their own first day of school and includes their very own mermaid school handbook.
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10. Mermaid and Me
When a young mermaid fan stumbles upon a real mermaid at the beach one day, all her wishes come true. They spend their days building a friendship but one stormy night may ruin it!
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11. Mermaid Indi
Mermaid Indi meets a shark who is feared by all. When she discovers that he's actually not scary, she makes it her mission to teach about compassion and sparing judgments about others.
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12. How to Catch a Wild Mermaid
This adorable mermaid book will captivate your readers with its clever rhymes as it answers the question, "How do you catch a mermaid?" This book is a perfect read aloud and will quickly become a favorite mermaid book.
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13. Do Not Mess with the Mermaids
Your kids will love shenanigans in this book about a little princess who is forced to be on her best behavior when the mermaid queen comes to town. The only problem is that she's currently babysitting a dragon egg. What could go wrong?
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14. The Coral Kingdom
Marina just moved to Mermaids Rock and she's already loving her new friends and new home. However, when the nearby coral caves are destroyed, the mermaids are scared of what could have caused the destruction. They decide to pursue this mystical adventure and try to solve the mystery!
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15. Sukey and the Mermaid
One day, Sukey runs away from her mean step-pa. She decides to hide by the sea and that's when she meets Mama Jo, a beautiful black mermaid. Mama Jo tries to convince Sukey to join her in her underwater kingdom. Will Sukey go with her?
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16. The Secret World of Mermaids
When Lucas is thrown into the sea, he glimpses a secret mermaid kingdom. His father, the King, tells him that the mermaids need their privacy, but will Lucas's curiosity get the best of him?
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17. A Mermaid's Tale of Pearls
This story is a sweet reminder of hope in difficult times. When a little girl meets a mermaid on her walk, she's told the sweetest tale of love and friendship between the moon and the sea. This beautiful mermaid tale is dedicated to anyone who has broken a heart, had theirs broken, or has yet to do either.
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Middle Grade (8-12 Years Old)
18. The Tail of Emily Windsnap
Twelve-year-old Emily Windsnap has lived on a boat her entire life but has never been in the water. When Emily convinces her mom to let her take swimming lessons, she learns about her father and the secrets her mom has been protecting her from. This is a great book for your middle school readers.
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19. The Mermaid Queen
In this fourth book from The Witches of Orkney series, Abigail discovers that the mermaid queen, Capricorn, is trying to force Odin to make her the goddess of the seas of Aegir - a plan that puts Orkney at risk. Abigail and Hugo set off on a journey of adventure to stop these mythical creatures.
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20. The Singing Serpent
This underwater adventure is perfect for readers with lots of mermaid imagination! Princess Eliana wants to be the youngest mermaid to win her city's duel tournaments but that all changes when she spots a monster haunting her reef. Eliana has to solve the mystery and attempt to save her city.
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21. Mermaid Lagoon
Lilly is just a normal girl until she and her friends get summoned to a school in the middle of the ocean. When they arrive, they face an adventure like never before with missing artifacts and secret spies!
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22. A Comb of Wishes
When Kela finds a hair comb in a coral cave, she feels joy over finding a new treasure. The mermaid Ophidia feels her comb has been taken, but she must trade a wish for the comb. The only wish Kela has is for her mom to be alive again, but is that a wish too big?
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23. Finders Keepers
When Macy finds a kidnapped mermaid, she is sent on a quest to search for a magical shell that can reunite the mermaid with her family. It's up to Macy to find the shell before anyone else does.
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24. Daughters of the Sea: Hannah
This historical fiction series follows three mermaid sisters who were separated at birth. In book one, Hannah is working as a maid for a rich family when she discovers she is actually a magical mermaid. She must decide if she wants to pursue the life of a mermaid in the sea or stay working on land.
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25. Deep Blue
When Serafina's mother is poisoned by an arrow, Serafina is determined to find the man responsible. She sets out on a search for five other mermaids with the hopes of together stopping the man from causing a mermaid war.
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Young Adult (12-18 Years Old)
26. Part of Your World
This twisted Little Mermaid retelling comes from the Disney Book Group. This story addresses what would happen if Ariel never defeated Ursula. Ursula is ruling Prince Eric's kingdom on land but when Ariel finds out her father may still be alive, she'll end up back in the world she thought she'd never return to.
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27. The Mermaid's Sister
Clara and Maren live with their guardian Auntie and listen to her stories every night. Auntie has always said that Maren arrived in a seashell, and one day, Maren starts growing scales. Clara must help her sister get to the sea or else she may die.
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28. Mermaid Moon
Sanna is sixteen and an outsider in her mermaid community due to her non-mermaid mother, whom she doesn't know because of a spell that was cast on her at birth. She sets off on a quest to find her mother. First, she must get her legs and face the dangers that await her on the shore.
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29. Head Over Tails
When Mermaid Sevencea sees a dreamy boy spending time near the water, all she wants is to get to know him. She trades magic for legs and joins him on land, but he's convinced she's only a hallucination. Will their love be able to work?
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30. Above the Sea
In this Little Mermaid retelling, the mermaid is actually in love with Captain Hook. When Lexa's father is taken, her only way to save him is through a marriage alliance with the Prince of the Shores. Will she choose to save her father or follow her own heart's desires?
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