Greta Whiteshark Meets the Mermaids

Gr 1-3–Greta is a bold shark-maid, whose feats of strength and chomping power make her stand out in her home of Fin Land. Readers are submerged in a dreamlike underwater world where Greta and her crab sidekick must learn to adjust during their big move to Mermaid Cove. As Greta tries fit into the new mermaid world, she attempts to hide her “sharkness” and make new friends. This tale of adventure and friendship relies on the mythical elements of sea stories to freshen up a “fish out of water” tale, but despite trying to cover a lot of ground, the story is not engaging or unique. However, the visuals, digitally rendered in a pastel color palette, create a world that will attract many young readers, and the melding of a shark and mermaid is successful. Characters in Fin Land are all white and it is not until Mermaid Cove that more diverse characters appear. The more complex connections between the stereotype that Mermaids think all Shark-maids are monsters, the all-white world of Fin Land, and the desire to assimilate into a new culture might be missed by some young readers, but it is not necessary to understand the story.