
Do you dare learn the secret of the lost mermaid? You're spending the summer at a seaside boardinghouse. One moonlit night you hear someone crying on the beach. You peek out your window—and see a mermaid named Tana. You'd like to help her, but she's in a terrible mood. "I don't know where the rest of the mermaids are," she snaps. "I've been looking for two days, but I can't find any of them. And if you want to hear any more, you'll have to follow me underwater!" If you go underwater with Tana, turn to page 36. If you lose your temper and go back to bed, turn to page 4. Whichever you choose, watch out! You've already been seen with Tana, and the two of you face danger. You could wind up as an aquarium exhibit, spin to your death in a whirlpool, or be boiled alive by a sea witch. Or you could discover an island paradise and live there happily ever after! What happens next in the story? It all depends on the choices you make. How does the story end? Only you can find out! And the best part is that you can keep reading and rereading until you've had not one but many incredibly daring experiences!
Author

Ann Hodgman (born 1956) is an American author of more than forty children's books as well as several cookbooks and humor books and many magazine articles. Ann was raised in Rochester, New York and graduated from Harvard College, where she was a staff member on the Harvard Lampoon and the Harvard Advocate. She was the food columnist for the magazines Spy and Eating Well. Her essay "No Wonder They Call Me a Bitch," about taste-testing various dog foods, was included in "Best American Essays." Hodgman is also known for her three cookbooks, Beat This!, Beat That! and One Bite Won't Kill You. She is the author of the 6-book vampire series My Babysitter is a Vampire and the nonfiction memoir "The House of a Million Pets." Hodgman is married to author David Owen, a staff writer for The New Yorker, and they have two children, Laura and John.