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The Tail of Emily Windsnap Paperback – Illustrated, April 10, 2012

by Liz Kessler (Author), Sarah Gibb (Illustrator)

4.6 2,573 ratings

Book 1 of 9: Emily Windsnap

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The New York Times best-selling series

A young girl learns she’s half mermaid and plunges into a scheme to reunite with her father in this entrancing, satisfying tale that beckons readers far below the waves.

For as long as she can remember, twelve-year-old Emily Windsnap has lived on a boat. And, oddly enough, for just as long, her mother has seemed anxious to keep Emily away from the water. But when Mom finally agrees to let her take swimming lessons, Emily makes a startling discovery — about her own identity, the mysterious father she’s never met, and the thrilling possibilities and perils shimmering deep below the water’s surface. With a sure sense of suspense and richly imaginative details, first-time author Liz Kessler lures us into a glorious undersea world where mermaids study shipwrecks at school and Neptune rules with an iron trident — an enchanting fantasy about family secrets, loyal friendship, and the convention-defying power of love.

From the Publisher

mermaids; family; friends; romance; middle grade; love; mystery; adventure; oceans


	The Tail of Emily Windsnap	Emily Windsnap and the Monster from the Deep	Emily Windsnap and the Castle in the Mist	Emily Windsnap and the Siren's Secret	Emily Windsnap and the Land of the Midnight Sun

Customer Reviews	2,573	1,216	1,120	1,021	1,014
Price	$6.19	$6.99	$5.69	$6.19	$6.99
Read the entire bestselling series!	For as long as she can remember, twelve-year-old Emily has lived on a boat. And for just as long, her mother has seemed anxious to keep Emily away from the water. But when Mom finally agrees to let her take swimming lessons, Emily makes a discovery.	To Emily Windsnap — half mermaid, half human — her new home is perfect. That is, until Emily ruins everything by waking a legendary sea monster known as the kraken from its hundred-year sleep...	When Emily discovers an old diamond ring, how is she supposed to know that the ring has an ancient curse on it? Now, with the ring stuck firmly on her hand, Emily finds herself under a new curse she has to break before it's too late!	Emily is finally enjoying a peaceful life on Allpoints Island, hanging out with her friends. But suddenly they must return to their old home in Brightport, where construction projects are threatening a secret mermaid community under the sea.	Half-mermaids Emily and Aaron embark on an icy and perilous journey to the Land of the Midnight Sun. Deep within an alpine lake, the two discover a trove of stolen memories and Neptune’s darkest secret.


	Emily Windsnap and the Ship of Lost Souls	Emily Windsnap and the Falls of Forgotten Island	Emily Windsnap and the Pirate Prince	Emily Windsnap and the Tides of Time

Customer Reviews	864	1,057	926	875
Price	$6.89	$6.99	$6.99	$6.99
	A field trip to a mysterious island quickly turns into an adventure when Emily and Aaron discover a ghostly ship that no one else can see. Suddenly, they uncover the story of a ship caught between land and sea, day and night... life and death.	Emily is headed to a tropical island for a relaxing vacation with friends and family. But before she knows it, she ends up entangled in a prophecy that seems to revolve around her and Aaron, as well as a mysterious, mythic giant.	After pirates overtake Emily's cruise ship and steal Aaron, she joins the younger son's crew in hopes of saving him. But what happens when she starts enjoying the pirate life and bonding with the crew — especially Sam, the pirate king’s son?	When Emily makes a wish on a magic stone, she gets a glimpse of what the future holds — and it’s a disaster! She must travel through time to save the people of her hometowns. Can Emily create a better future for everyone, including herself?

Editorial Reviews

Review

Pre-teen girls will likely bite at this novel's tempting bait.
—Publishers Weekly

Delightful moments.
—School Library Journal

Light, imagination-tickling fare ideal for middle-grade girls, with charming ink-wash illustrations scattered throughout.
—Booklist

Middle school girls . . . will enjoy the tale.
—VOYA

There is no denying the siren-like allure of mermaid stories. . . . Gibb's spot art has a fluid delicacy that adds much to the watery ambience.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Liz Kessler makes a splash with this tightly written, highly imaginative debut.
—FamilyFun

Charming.
—The Wall Street Journal

Liz Kessler creates an engaging heroine, full of funny asides and derring-do, and a sparkling, fast-paced story with more plot twists than a mermaid's flipping tale.
—Washington Parent

About the Author

Liz Kessler lives in England, and has worked as a teacher, journalist, and editorial consultant. She says she first knew she wanted to become a writer at the age of nine, when she had a poem published in a local newspaper. The Tail of Emily Windsnap, her first children’s book, grew out of a poem she wrote about a mermaid.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Can you keep a secret?
Everybody has secrets, of course, but mine’s different, and it’s kind of weird. Sometimes I even have nightmares that people will find out about it and lock me up in a zoo or a scientist’s laboratory.
It all started in seventh-grade swim class, on the first Wednesday afternoon at my new school. I was really looking forward to it. Mom hates swimming, and she always used to change the subject when I asked her why I couldn’t learn.
“But we live on a boat!” I’d say (we actually do). “We’re surrounded by water!”
“You’re not getting me in that water,” she’d reply. “Just look at all the pollution. You know what it’s like when the day cruises have been through here. Now stop arguing, and come and help me with the vegetables.”
She had kept me out of swimming lessons all the way through grade school, saying it was unhealthy. “All those bodies mixing in the same water.” She’d shudder. “That’s not for us, thank you very much.”
And each time I asked her, that would be that: End of Discussion. But the summer before I started middle school, I finally wore her down. “All right, all right,” she sighed. “I give in. Just don’t start trying to get me in there with you.”
I’d never been in the ocean. I’d never even had a bath. Hey, I’m not dirty or anything — I do take a shower every night. But there isn’t enough room for a bathtub on the boat, so never in my life had I been totally immersed in water.
Until the first Wednesday afternoon of seventh grade.

Mom bought me a special new bag to carry my new bathing suit and towel. On the side, it had a picture of a woman doing the crawl. I looked at the picture and dreamed about winning Olympic races with a striped racing suit and blue goggles just like hers.
Only it didn’t happen quite like that.
When we got to the pool, a man with a whistle and white shorts and a red T-shirt told the girls to go change in one room and the boys in the other.
I changed quickly in the corner. I didn’t want anyone to see my skinny body. My legs are like sticks, and they’re usually covered in scabs and bruises from getting on and oﬀ The King of the Sea. That’s our boat. I admit it’s kind of a fancy name for a little houseboat with moldy ropes, peeling paint, and beds the width of a ruler. . . . Anyway. We usually just call it King.
Julia Cross smiled at me as she put her clothes in her locker. “I like your suit,” she said. It’s just plain black with a white stripe across the middle.
“I like your cap,” I said, and smiled back as she squashed her hair into her tight, pink swimming cap. I squeezed my ponytail into mine. I usually wear my hair loose; Mom made me put it in a scrunchie today. My hair is mousy brown and used to be short, but I’m growing it out right now. It’s a bit longer than shoulder length so far.
Julia and I sit next to each other sometimes. We’re not best friends. Sharon Matterson used to be my best friend, but she went to St. Mary’s. I’m at Brightport Junior High. Julia’s the only person here that I might want to be best friends with. But I think she really wants to be best friends with Mandy Rushton.
They hang out together between classes.
I don’t mind. Not really. Except when I can’t find my way to the cafeteria — or to some of the classes. At those moments, it might be nice to have someone to get lost with. Brightport Junior High is about ten times bigger than my elementary school. It’s like an enormous maze, with millions of boys and girls who all seem to know what they’re doing.
“You coming, Julia?” Mandy Rushton stood between us with her back to me. She gave me a quick look over her shoulder, then whispered something in Julia’s ear and laughed. Julia didn’t look up as they passed me.
Mandy lives on the pier, like me, only not on a boat. Her parents run the video arcade, and they’ve got an apartment above it. We used to be pretty good friends until last year. That’s when I accidentally told my mom — who told Mandy’s mom — that Mandy had showed me how to win free games on the PinWizard machine. I didn’t mean to get her in trouble but —well, let’s just say I’m not exactly welcome in the arcade anymore. In fact, she hasn’t spoken to me since.
And now we’ve ended up in the same swim class at Brightport Junior High. Fabulous. As if starting a new school the size of a city isn’t bad enough.
I finished getting ready and hurried out.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Candlewick; Illustrated edition (April 10, 2012)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0763660205
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0763660208
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 8 - 11 years, from customers
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 540L
Grade level ‏ : ‎ 3 - 7
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 6.4 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.19 x 0.6 x 7.63 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #47,646 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #35 in Children's Mermaid Folk Tales & Myths
- #1,231 in Children's Friendship Books
- #1,360 in Children's Fantasy & Magic Books

Customer Reviews:
4.6 2,573 ratings

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Liz Kessler

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Liz Kessler studied English at Loughborough University, has worked as a teacher and a journalist and has an MA in Creative Writing from Manchester Metropolitan University. After taking a year off to travel around Europe in a camper van, Liz now lives in Cornwall.

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Matt

A fun crazy adventure

Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2016

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I am going to tell you about the setting of The Tail of Emily Windsnap. The setting took place on a ship called King of the Sea and I think that is an interesting name for a ship. Most of the setting is either on the ship or in the ocean and the author described the setting very well. I could almost imagine myself in the setting of this story. The setting of The Tail of Emily Windsnap is very creative and amazing.
I can tell you a lot about the plot of this story. A girl named Emily finds out she is half mermaid at the beginning of the story when she swims for the first time and I think that it would be awesome to find out you were half mermaid. I found it very interesting when Emily met a mermaid named Shannon and learned about her dad at mermaid school. She goes through a great and crazy adventure to find her dad who is a mermaid also. I loved the plot of The Tail of Emily Windsnap.
I am going to tell you the conflict and resolution of The Tail of Emily Windsnap. I thought it was surprising when Emily found out her dad was a mermaid, and was in prison and that was a problem. She is half mermaid and mermaid prison is very far away, so she would have to swim underwater, which I think would be crazy because she would not be able to swim that long and far. So Emily, her mom, and Mr. Beeston went into the ocean on a ship, so Emily could jump out of the ship when they were far enough, and go through a difficult adventure to save her dad. Emily went through a crazy adventure just to save her dad.

23 people found this helpful

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xxKawaiiCherryBlossom

Write more books!!

Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2019

Verified Purchase

This was a book I read in my class for book clubs with my best friends,my teacher,and some friends who were boys. In this book,there is a girl,Emily,a mermaid,who is a hero in her own way. Most people are used to reading about a man perseptionist,but no,this time it was a woman! My point is that anyone can read this book and enjoy it. You do not have to be a girl to read about girls,and you do not have to be a boy to read about boys! I have a friend,Ryan,who read "The Tail Of Emily Windsnap" with me,and who liked it so much he bought the entire series! I am not saying you have to like this book( You most likely will though,), I am saying this book is for all gender,all people,to read. It is ok if you do not like it,but if you do not like it based on the gender of the main character,that us wrong and you need to think about that. This book had morals which made me think,Who am I? Am I truly being myself? Can I be more? This book had friendships,morals,life lessons,and meaning. My classmates and I have all been split up into different book clubs,and we are all in a book club with some other classmates,and we are doing mini dioramas based on this book. We had 5 - 6 boys in our group,and we had 5 girls. All the boys are working just as hard and focusing just as much on this diorama as the girls,even though the book had a female perseptionist! If you are still in Elementrary,Middle,or High School,then try and tell your teachers and friends about this book,and maybe you guys can do book clubs on the series. If you are reading this review at home,or maybe you're a parent,wanting to buy a book for your son or daughter,then tell all your friends so that they can tell more people so that everyone can read "The Tail Of Emily Windsnap". Please create a new series based on Shona! Or maybe Emily's past🤗
Thank you so much for reading this!
Happy New Years!
xxKawaiiCherryBlossom

16 people found this helpful

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The Tatting Flutist

Fun fantasy series

Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2021

Verified Purchase

I was surprised to find that my Kindle file actually contained not only the Tail.of Emily Windsnap, but the first 6 books of the series. The editing is excellent. There are very few errors to detract from the story telling. I am not in the target audience for this series, but I have enjoyed the books nonethless. I enjoy mermaid fantasy stories, and this is a fun series. I would recommend the series to girls age 10 to 14. There are lessons about friendship woven into the stories. It is fun to see how Emily gets into and out of various difficulties. She always gets by with a little help from her friends.

Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2013

Verified Purchase

This book is awesome! :) I recommend everyone who thinks mermaids are pretty cool or to anyone looking for a kid friendly good book. I thought this book would be kind of boring and kind of for little kids but I got it anyway to see how it was and I was wrong! I'm 11 years old and I enjoyed it! I haven't gotten any other Emily Windsnap books but I'm going to soon. This is book is PERFECT for big and small. If your reading reviews to see if this book is good, you should stop right here and get the first book but don't spend your money on anything until you finish the book because I'm REALLY regretting spending all my money before seeing if I liked it. GET THE BOOK. ITS AWESOME!! xoxoxoxo <3 ;) :-) 8-)

8 people found this helpful

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J Bac

Good read for even adults

Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2022

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Excellent writing - suspenseful, exciting. It's nice to read without sexual undertones and trashy language. Put it this way: Grandma that's me read it and loved it.

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L. Norris

Simple, frustrating characters, but quick read

Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2015

Verified Purchase

I got this to read to my 7 year old daughter and honestly she loved it. The reason I'm giving it two stars is because if I had read it by myself first I never would have read it to her. The book is too simple and poses no challenge. I don't want to give anything away but I have to say that the ending really didn't make any sense. It seemed like the author wanted to finish quickly so she went against the nature of the characters to get to the ending she did. However, if you're just looking for a fun little story to read to pass the time... well, no I probably still wouldn't recommend this book.

9 people found this helpful

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Another Reader

"This book isn't 100% wholesome, Mom"

Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2020

Verified Purchase

I downloaded this book for my daughter without reading it first. She came to me after reading a bit and told me that the book wasn't "100% wholesome." The main character has a baby sitter who engages in fortune telling and uses tarot cards. If these aren't influences you care for in your kids' books, be aware. She does find the book entertaining.

42 people found this helpful

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K. Hanratty

Emily Windsnap

Reviewed in the United States on July 16, 2022

Verified Purchase

From Eva, six years: It’s a good story, but for me, I don’t think that the books end in a very good place. There needs to be more story at the end. My favourite bits are the mermaids.

One person found this helpful

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