Mermaid Tails: 9 Enchanting Books Like The Little Mermaid

Fans of The Little Mermaid are sure to fall in love with this spellbinding Black mermaid story by Natasha Bowen. Simi is a mermaid who serves the gods by collecting the souls of people who die at sea and blessing their journeys homeward. Like Ariel, Simi makes a stir when she rescues a boy from a shipwreck. To protect her fellow mermaids, or Mami Wata, Simi will seek out the Supreme Creator.

Starting in high school, I went through a fairy tale retellings phase that I have not left since. Each book in the Once Upon a Time series retells a different fairy tale, and I devoured them all. In Debbie Viguié’s enchanting variation of The Little Mermaid, we meet a mysterious girl who has grown up on the land rather than in the sea. Having been rescued by a fisherman as a child, Pearl has always felt like an outsider in her village. While she finds comfort in her friendship with Prince James, secrets from her past may put everything at risk.

This poignant and heartfelt graphic novel by Trung Le Nguyen features a couple of fairy tales, including The Little Mermaid. As with The Little Mermaid, themes surrounding family dynamics, coming-of-age, and identity play a central role in the narrative as well. Tiến is the son of Vietnamese immigrants, and while he loves his family, he’s unsure of how to tell them he’s gay. Tiến and his mother bond over fairy tales, and these magical stories may be just what he needs to find the right words.

A Little Mermaid-inspired reading list can’t be complete without mentioning this beloved adaptation of the tale by Hayao Miyazaki. This colorful manga brings Studio Ghibli’s Ponyo film to page and breathes new life into the sweet story. Ready to escape her stifling life at home under the sea, a little fish named Ponyo swims away to shore where she’s rescued from a glass jar by a boy named Sosuke. On land, Ponyo can transform into a human, but when it causes a disturbance in the balance of nature, Ponyo and Sosuke will set off on an epic adventure to set things right!

Along with mermaid tales, selkie stories also promise similar vibes to The Little Mermaid. In Molly Knox Ostertag’s touching and atmospheric graphic novel, readers travel to an island along the coast of Nova Scotia where closeted teen lesbian Morgan yearns to escape. However, Morgan’s entire world shifts the night she’s rescued from drowning by a mysterious girl named Keltie.

Speaking of selkies, this under-the-radar fantasy by Franny Billingsley is a long-time favorite of mine. This one is delightfully eerie as it involves chilling creatures known as the Folk. Corinna Stonewall is a Folk Keeper, gifted with unusual abilities that allow her to keep the Folk at bay from people’s homes. When Lord Merton invites her to his seaside estate, Corinna will uncover secrets about her past, like why her hair grows two inches every night and why the sea seems to call to her.

Like selkies, sirens are another sea creature reminiscent of mermaids and perfect for fans of The Little Mermaid. This new book by Gabi Burton weaves together a number of tantalizing threads, including a badass Black siren heroine, forbidden romance, grumpy/sunshine dynamics, and gripping murder mystery subplots. Saoirse Sorkova navigates a web of lies as she keeps her siren identity secret while training to become a soldier, moonlights as an assassin, and lies to her family about the level of control she has over her siren powers. When her sister gets threatened by a blackmailer, Saoirse decides to become a bodyguard for the prince and begins digging for answers.

While this book by Elizabeth Lim retells another one of my favorite fairy tales, The Six Swans, it involves elements that feel reminiscent of The Little Mermaid. Like Ariel, Shiori gets trapped in a curse that forces her to remain silent and not use her voice. Lim blends East Asian mythology with The Six Swans storyline to create a truly original and magical tale. When Princess Shiori’s brothers are cursed into becoming six cranes, Shiori will go to any length necessary to save them.