[2] A man, a mermaid, a boy, a bear and a lynx – all orphans – find a home together in a log cabin in the woods by the sea.

Reviewing the novel for The New York Times, Travers continues: There is nothing here of Hans Andersen's mawkish portentousness and nostalgia, no longing for an immortal soul, no craving for a pair of legs.

[3]Eleven years later, the Times revisited Jarrell's juvenile works, with novelist John Updike judging The Animal Family the best of his children's books and praising its "exqusite" writing.

"[4]In 2017, Toei Animation launched a crowdfunding campaign under Tomoyasu Murata to create a stop motion animated film adaptation of the story, using its Japanese title: The Story of the Mermaid that went up to Land (陸にあがった人魚のはなし, Riku ni Agatta Ningyo no Hanashi).

In two days, the project reached 68% of its goal to create a three-minute pilot to showcase the viability of a one hour film.