The Secret of the Purple Lake by Yaba Badoe
A long time ago, during the days of the Ghana Empire, there lived a girl named Ajuba whose house was by the sea… Ajuba, the Fisherman’s daughter, has to retrieve her dead father’s bones from the bottom of the sea in order to bring harmony back to her seaside village. In fulfilling her task, she must evade the clutches of The Fish-man of the Purple Lake, a monstrous creature who guards the lake with a sword made of a thousand shark’s teeth. But the Fish-man, once a beautiful boy called Musa has his own story about how he came to dwell alone, underwater, cast into the sea by a golden eagle as punishment for a treacherous deed. Travel the world in this enchanting collection of interlinked stories, from Ghana to Orkney, and from Spain to Norway and Thailand. Learn how Musa escaped the wrath of Imoro the magic elephant. Meet Leo of the Norselands, who left his home to find a wife and was transformed into a Walrus Prince. And listen to the story of the Wild Princesses of Rousay, a tale of long ago, when mermaids swam beyond the coast of Scotland.