The Little Mermaid (graphic novel by Metaphrog)

I am trying to catch up my list of graphic novels that received starred reviews. This one is a beautifully illustrated version of the traditional Little Mermaid story done in a graphic novel format. Although the text is fairly minimal, the illustrations do a great job of portraying the complicated emotions of the Mermaid as she watches the love she had hoped and sacrificed for go to another.  This is not the Disney form of the story.  In the end she loses everything, though the author suggests that her fate as sea foam does have a positive spiritual potential. Still, with all of the "follow your dreams" stories for children, it is good to have one that reminds readers that sacrificing everything for "true love" doesn't always have the "happily ever after" ending one imagines. This a pretty good introduction to the old precautionary tale for a new generation. (Added plus, all the mermaids wear a shirts instead of a shell bikini tops throughout.) (66 p.)