Barbie in a Mermaid Tale
Step into Reading, Reading with Help, Step 2
(Preschool - Grade 1)
adapted by Christy Webster
based on the original screenplay by Elise Allen
illustrated by Ulkutay Design Group and Pat Kakula
children's fiction
ages 4-7
This 32 page adaptation from a direct to video Barbie film uses large, easy to read fonts, and colorful cartooning. Surfer girl, Merliah, goes on a big adventure under the sea with her trusty sidekick, the dolphin, Zuma.
The good news for feminists is that Merliah is not consumed with fashion, but having adventures and rescuing the ocean from certain doom.
For some reason the back cover says "What this book is about.. Barbie in a Mermaid Tale (tm) Marisa is a mermaid princess. Can she save the ocean from her evil sister?"
The main character is Merliah, not Marisa, so the cover got that wrong.
The evil mermaid is her aunt, not her sister, so the cover got that wrong, too.
Reading thirty two pages was too much to ask of the cover editor?
