Daniela Drescher, a German children's author and artist whose picture-books explore the world of diminutive magical beings such as fairies (Little Fairy's Christmas, Little Fairy Can't Sleep) and elves (The Elves' Big Adventure, In the Land of the Elves), here turns her attention to the denizens of a woodland pool. From the water folk themselves - the mermaids who sun themselves upon the rocks, the nymphs who sleep upon the lily pads - to the many visitors who come to the pool - fairies fetching water, elf-boys teasing frogs - it is clear that this magical ecosystem is of central importance to all...

Originally published in German as Im Land der Nixen, this picture-book is very much in line with Drescher's other work, which celebrates the beauty of nature, and of the passing seasons. I was initially a little surprised to see that the "water folk" were not confined to the water in Drescher's enchanted world - they emerge from the depths to attend the gnome king's ball, and skate upon the frozen pool in winter - changing their shape as the need arises. Perhaps the title of this English translation led me to expect mermaids and mermen to predominate in the story, and for the setting to remain largely underwater, but once I became aware of the original German title, I understood, as nixen are Germanic water spirits (sometimes mermaids, sometimes not) said to possess the ability to change shape. In any case, leaving that aside, In the Land of the Merfolk presents a beautiful vision of a magical world, one both natural and supernatural. As always with Drescher, the artwork is simply gorgeous, with its use of vivid, jewel-like colours, and depiction of gossamer-fine magical beings. The scene in which the fairies come to fetch water at the pool was particularly lovely, I thought. The rhyming narrative here felt a little weak, sometimes even a little forced, but I'm going to put that down to issues of translation. I'm working my way through Drescher's work in English, but at some point I'd love to pick up some German originals, just to compare the texts, and see if they read better in the original. Anyhow, overall a beautiful book, one I would recommend to young fairy lovers, as well as to fans of the artist. ( )

Lovely illustration of MerFolk and Water Fae similar in art style to Jane Dyer's "Child of Faerie, Child of Earth." A sweet little poem of about four lines per page. The only thing that prevents me giving it five-stars is that their was no effort to find a typeface that enhanced the art. ( )