Denizens Of The Deep

I love water, I love how it looks, how if feels, I love looking at it, swimming in it, smelling it (unless it's a stinky harbor that shall remain nameless).  I also love stories about water beings of all sorts.  Mermaids, Selkies, Sirens, Kelpies, Undines, Naiads, Kappa's, I love them all. When I was little...ok even now, I was/am obsessed with aquariums and always wanted to get in with all the fishies and swim around like a mermaid, my wonderful Hubbin made that dream come
 true snorkeling in Hawaii a few years ago, seriously it was just like all my young four-year old self dreams come true, it was amazing and now has me wishing I was a Selkie :-)  The most well known story about "mythical" water creatures (I'm convinced they actually exist, just they are smart enough to stay hidden) is of course The Little Mermaid, either the pretty princess Disney version, or the much darker original walking on knives and dissolving into sea foam version.  Here are some books and stories that I really enjoyed featuring our favorite denizens of the deep.

The Mermaid's Madness-This is the second book in the Princess Novels series by Jim C. Hines.  It is a very different retelling of the original Little Mermaid story, and also deals with the aftermath of her being jilted.  Very dark and tragic, not for your little princess.

Midnight Pearls- This is a book from the Once Upon A Time series that is a set of books that retell the various classics to varying degrees of success (more on that in another post).  This is another retelling of The Little Mermaid, but this one spends the vast majority of the time above the waves as the mermaid in question is mostly raised on land.  Pretty good story and a fairly quick read, perfect for the beach.

Petaybee Series- This series and the one that follows it (The Twins of Petaybee) are a collaboration between Anne McCaffery and Elizabeth Scarborough that combine Alaskan and Irish culture and myth.  It is set on a sentient world that produces strange effects in some of the inhabitants, including one of the main characters essentially being a selkie.  This trait is passed onto his children in the second series.  This is one of those great/weird combinations of futuristic sci-fi and environmental fantasy.

Quest For A Kelpie-This historical fantasy set in Scotland is a great one for the young adult crowd.  It sneaks in a lot of history (think Bonny Prince Charles and such) but still keeps the pace moving...plus mythical horse of the sea, so pretty cool.

Kappa- This was a bit of an odd one.  The story is told by Patient 23, an asylum patient.  It is the story of his journey to Kappaland and his twisty, weird adventures with these little green water sprites.  Read this one and tell me what you think.

What are your favorite water creatures?  Do you like the classics or the re-telling's better?  Did you ever dream of swimming in the big aquariums?  Have you ever wished you could breath under water?