Kierkegaard and the Mermaid

At its most basic, philosophy is about learning how to think about the world around us. It should come as no surprise, then, that children make excellent philosophers! Naturally inquisitive, pint-size scholars need little prompting before being willing to consider life’s “big questions,” however strange or impractical. Plato & Co. introduces children—and curious grown-ups—to the lives and work of famous philosophers, from Socrates to Descartes, Einstein, Marx, and Wittgenstein. Each book in the series features an engaging—and often funny—story that presents basic tenets of philosophical thought alongside vibrant color illustrations.
Kierkegaard and the Mermaid takes a “leap into the absurd,” exploring the existential philosophy of Søren Kierkegaard from the bottom of the sea, through the eyes of a princess with a fish’s tail. Though living in a coral palace and betrothed to the handsomest and tenderest of all the water sprites, our heroine soon finds herself heartbroken. She must look deep into the world of the spirit to find out what it all means.

Jakob Rachmanski is an author and specialist in behavioral economy. Line Faden-Babin is a literary translator and author. Lucia Calfapietra was born in Italy, very near the sea. She moved to France at the age of 25 to train as an illustrator, but she still dreams of becoming a mermaid one day. Jordan Lee Schnee is a writer, translator, and musician based in Berlin.