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Field Notes – the Mermaid Edition

May 12, 2016 Claire Annette Noland 3 Comments

Welcome to A Field Trip Life! Here’s the monthly round up of notes from the field:

mermaid baby

During the month of April I linked up with many other bloggers who participated in the A to Z Blog Challenge. We wrote thematic posts with each day starting with a consecutive letter of the alphabet.

mermaid letters

My 2016 challenge theme was Living in a Mermaid World and I found far more mermaid material than I could ever hope to use. I kept finding more and more mermaid legends, books, films, songs,and art and will keep on researching.

When most people think of mermaids they usually think of Disney’s version of The Little Mermaid. Many mermaid stories are far darker with tales of luring victims beneath the water, sabotage, and trickery. Other stories portray mermaids as victims who came ashore but had important items stolen which  forced them to live on land – that is until they discovered their hat, tails, or skins and were able to return to the sea.

mermaid mexican pottery

Mermaids could very well be the most diverse characters in the world of folklore, legend, and mythology. They are found wherever there is water and their legends have traveled and transformed as they combined with tales from other cultures. It is interesting to learn about the similarities and differences.

 

I had many choices for most letters but unfortunately couldn’t fit them all in. Here are a few things you may enjoy:

dive bar

If you would like to take a mermaid field trip, you can visit the Dive Bar in Sacramento, California. I went with my daughter and her friends and was fortunate to see Mermaid Rachel who is not only the Dive Bar’s head mermaid but is also an illustrator. You can read about her in this interview conducted  by Mermaid author Carolyn Turgeon.

 

S Sukey

P is for Pinterest and I have two boards featuring mermaids. Mermaids – Read All About Them highlights  books featuring mermaids (mostly kid lit)  and Mermaids from A – Z showcases everything else. I’ll be updating these so follow along.

 

KONICA MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERA

There are Mermaid Statues all over the globe. A great map was put together by Mermaids of the Earth  where you can also find additional mermaid information.

 

nuremberg bible

The American Museum of Natural History had an exhibit a number of years ago on Mythic Creatures. Becoming Mermaids was a part of this show and there is a great overview of the origins, mythology and legends of mermaids on their website.

 

Do you want to be a mermaid? You can attend Mermaid School!

weeki camp

I wrote about Weeki Wachee Springs in Florida for the letter W. They actually have a Mermaid Camp where you can perform!

You could also try the L A Mermaid School or the Philippine Mermaid Swimming Academy.

Did you know that a group of mermaids is called a pod? There are pods of merfolk all over the world and they have their own Merfolk Network.

Looking for a movie featuring Mermaids other than the Disney version? Buzzfeed has a list of Thirteen Iconic Mermaid Movies.

miranda

 

 

Why do you think mermaids fascinate so many people?

 

A-to-Z Reflection [2016]

 

This was my third A to Z Blog Challenge. I continue to be  surprised by the amount of time consumed by the challenge. I read some great blogs and have discovered a number that I will continue to follow. I enjoyed being on Co-Host Pam the Unconventional Librarian‘s team and working along with Parul at Happiness and Food, Rajlakshmi at The Twinkle Eyed Traveler, and Shalini at Something’s Cooking and Tale of Two Tomatoes.

I held my first blog giveaway and the winners of some fun mermaid items are:

Cynthia at Read is the New Black

Jazz Feathers at The Old Shelter

Trina Grillo at the Grog Blog

 

If you participated in the challenge this year, what were your easiest and most difficult letters?

 

Filed Under: Blogging A to Z, Mermaids, Places Tagged With: A - Z Blog Challenge Reflection, Dive Bar Sacramento, Living in a Mermaid World, Mermaid Pinterest Boards, Mermaid School

Previous Post: « Z is for Zimbabwe, Zaire, and
Next Post: Reflections on the A – Z Blog Challenge »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. JazzFeathers says

    May 13, 2016 at 7:33 am

    I really enjoye dyour challenge, I’m happy I found you rblog.
    We tend to think to mermaid in a very steretyped way, I think. As it seems to be true for many legends, folklore is often more divers and darker.
    Well, done 🙂

    Reply
  2. evelyne holingue says

    May 13, 2016 at 10:33 pm

    You were highly creative with this challenge, Claire. Like you I had more choices for a few letters and I will soon write my recap with them. A little swamped with the revision of my new YA novel. Good job again.

    Reply
  3. Rhonda Gilmour says

    May 17, 2016 at 2:53 pm

    What an interesting choice of topic. Why are people fascinated by mermaids? I suppose it’s the idea of freedom we imagine would come with gliding through the water.

    Reply

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Hello. I’m Claire Annette - reader, writer, teacher, and field trip planner extraordinaire. Here at A Field Trip Life you will find ideas for adventures large and small and the kids’ books that inspire them. Sign your permission slip. Let's go!

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