New Release Books by Liz Kessler

With her best friend’s help, can mermaid Shona get up the nerve to share her singing talents at school? A new reader for younger fans based on the New York Times best-selling Emily Windsnap novels. Emily Windsnap’s best friend, Shona Silkfin, is a mermaid who loves to sing . . . but only when she is by herself. So when Shiprock School announces a talent show whose winner will have the honor of meeting King Neptune, everyone is excited to perform—except Shona, who is too nervous to sign up. But when Emily overhears her friend singing, she’s amazed by Shona’s beautiful voice. With Emily’s encouragement, Shona decides to enter the talent show—and when she anxiously takes the stage, Shona knows that her best friend is cheering her on, giving her the courage to sing loud and proud in front of everyone, even the King of the Oceans. Based on the New York Times best-selling series by Liz Kessler, this underwater adventure offers a sweet story about a confidence-bolstering friendship to new readers.

Introducing an exciting new line of readers that brings half-mermaid Emily Windsnap—star of the New York Times best-selling series—to a younger audience. Even though she lives in a houseboat, Emily Windsnap doesn’t know how to swim. Her mother has always cautioned her to stay out of the water. But it’s hard to make friends at the beach when everyone else is having fun in the waves! So when swimming lessons start at school, Emily is excited to finally have the chance to learn. Standing beside the pool, she feels the water calling her, but when she jumps in, she gets a strange, kind of scary sensation . . . like her legs are stuck together. Eager to figure out what’s happening, Emily later dives into the sea. She gets that weird feeling again, but this time she looks down to see that her legs are gone—replaced by a shiny, beautiful tail! Welcome to Emily’s Big Discovery, the first in a sparkling, charmingly illustrated series of readers. With a mermaid tail and an entire ocean awaiting her, Emily is eager to meet new friends and swim off on big adventures in this inviting new series for the younger set, based on the best-selling middle-grade series by Liz Kessler.

Emily Windsnap doesn't know how to swim. Her mother has always cautioned her to stay out of the water. But it's hard to make friends at the beach when everyone else is having fun in the waves! So when swimming lessons start at school, Emily is excited to finally have the chance to learn. Standing beside the pool, she feels the water calling her, but when she jumps in, she gets a strange, kind of scary sensation... like her legs are stuck together. Eager to figure out what's happening, Emily later dives into the sea. She gets that weird feeling again, but this time she looks down to see that her legs are gone--replaced by a shiny, beautiful tail!

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Emily Windsnap series, Liz Kessler, comes a “brutally honest and totally believable” (Booklist, starred review) story of three young friends whose fates are intertwined during the devastation of the Holocaust—based on a true story. Three friends. One memory. Vienna. 1936. Three young friends—Leo, Elsa, and Max—spend a perfect day together, unaware that around them Europe is descending into a growing darkness and that they will soon be cruelly ripped apart from one another. With their lives taking them across Europe—to Germany, England, Prague, and Poland—will they ever find their way back to one another? Will they want to? Inspired by a true story, When the World Was Ours is an extraordinary novel that is as powerful as it is heartbreaking and that shows how the bonds of love, family, and friendship allow glimmers of hope to flourish, even in the most hopeless of times.

A powerful, heart-breaking, ultimately redemptive novel about three childhood friends in 1930s Vienna whose fates are closely intertwined, even when their lives take very different courses.

Emily Windsnap must travel through time in order to save the people of her hometowns — both human andmerfolk — in the exciting ninth book of the New York Times best-selling series. When Emily makes a wish on a magic stone, she gets a glimpse of what the future holds — and it’s a disaster! She tries to make things right, but each trip through time takes Emily to a future where things turn out badly for either the humans of Brightport or the merpeople of Shiprock. Plastic pollutes the ocean, garbage overflows the landfills, and the two towns are no longer getting along. Emily realizes she can't save her hometown and the ocean alone, but with help from her best friends, Shona and Mandy, she’ll have to find a way to get humans and merpeople to work together. Will Emily be able to create a better future for everyone, including herself? This new adventure gives readers a glimpse at what Emily and her friends could be like as grown-ups, with a fresh story that explores how uniting communities can make a future that’s bright for everyone.

Emily Windsnap ends up surrounded by pirates — and on a life-changing adventure — in the eighth installment of the New York Times best-selling series. Traveling home by cruise ship should be a relaxing break after Emily’s latest adventure, but things take a turn when the ship is overtaken by a pirate king and his crew. After the pirates collect everyone’s riches, they steal something even more valuable: Aaron. The pirate king’s eldest son takes Aaron captive, forcing him to help guide the pirates to the mythical Trident’s Treasure. So Emily dives into action and joins the younger son’s crew in hopes of saving Aaron. But while experiencing life on the waves, Emily is surprised to find herself not only enjoying the pirate life, but actually bonding with the crew — especially Sam, the pirate king’s son. Between helping Sam unravel riddles to beat his brother to the treasure and making sure that her friends are safe, Emily realizes that she needs to be true to herself. Will she cast aside her mermaid life to join her new friends, or will she find a way to follow her own path?

While on vacation, Emily Windsnap finds herself swept up in an ancient prophecy as the New York Times best-selling series continues. Emily is headed to a tropical island for a relaxing vacation with friends and family. And this time, Emily promises her best friend, Shona, there will be absolutely no adventure — just plenty of fun. But somehow excitement always seems to find Emily, and before she knows it, she ends up on the other side of a powerful waterfall on a forgotten island no one else can get to. Well, no one that isn’t a half-mer like Emily and her boyfriend, Aaron. The people who live on the island believe in a prophecy that foretells how they can be saved from an imminent, devastating earthquake — and this prophecy seems to revolve around Emily and Aaron, as well as a mysterious, mythic giant. Will they be able to find the giant — and fulfill the prophecy — before it’s too late?

"First published in Great Britain by Hodder and Stoughton"--Title page verso.

Half-mermaid, half-human, and all magic, Emily Windsnap has had middle-grade readers under her spell for more than a decade. All six of her shimmering underwater adventures are now available in one beautiful collection with a bonus friendship booklet for readers to share with their BFFs. Includes books 1 through 6: 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; Emily Windsnap and the Ship of Lost Souls; Bonus! Best Friends with Emily Windsnap booklet

In her first novel for young adults, New York Times best-selling author Liz Kessler tells a story about finding a kindred spirit and becoming your true self. Ashleigh Walker is a mediocre student with an assortment of friends, a sort-of boyfriend, and no plans for the future. Then a straight-from-college English teacher, Miss Murray, takes over Ash’s class and changes everything. Miss Murray smiles a lot. She shares poetry with curse words in it. She’s, well, cool. And she seems to really care about her students. About Ashleigh. For the first time, Ash feels an urge to try harder. To give something — someone — her best. Before she knows it, Ashleigh is in love. Intense, heart-racing, all-consuming first love. It’s strong enough to distract her from worrying about bad grades and her parents’ marriage troubles. But what will happen if Miss Murray finds out Ashleigh is in love with her?

Emily Windsnap finds herself caught between worlds in a dramatic new episode of the New York Times best-selling series. A field trip to a mysterious island quickly turns into an adventure when Emily Windsnap and Aaron discover a secret lookout point from which they spot a ghostly ship that no one else seems to be able to see. The ship appears and disappears only at certain times of day—growing fainter each time. Searching for answers only leads to more questions until Emily and her friends confront the island’s keeper, uncovering the incredible story of a ship caught between land and sea, day and night . . . life and death. Only Emily, with her ability to transform from mermaid to human, can enter Atlantis to try to bring the ship’s passengers back before the portal is closed forever. Emily knows that if she fails, not only will the passengers never see their loved ones again, but Emily won’t be able to return either. Will she be able to resist the allure of Atlantis and return home before it’s too late?

Manifesting an ability to become invisible, Jessica, along with her best friend Izzy, organizes a band of fellow students who also demonstrate supernatural abilities only to be targeted by an unscrupulous adult.

Emily Windsnap lives on a boat, but her mother has always been oddly anxious to keep her out of the water. It is only when Emily has her first school swimming lesson that she discovers why: as soon as she gets into the water, she grows a tail! Soon Emily discovers a glorious underwater world of fishes, coral, shipwrecks and mermaids, and, best of all, she finds a best friend! With mermaid Shona Silkfin by her side, Emily uncovers a surprising family secret and embarks on a quest to reunite her mum and dad. This enchanting fantasy deals with universal themes of family, friendship, love and justice - all handled with the lightness of touch for which Liz Kessler is so well known.

Hurting her eye while the children in the family rehearse a pirate play for their mother's birthday, Poppy the dog sulks over the cone she must wear around her neck before redeeming herself by finding mother's missing birthday present.

An Early Reader about friendship featuring Jenny the Pony, from bestselling EMILY WINDSNAP author, Liz Kessler, and Laura Tonge, with illustrations from Mike Phillips. Jenny the pony is always getting into trouble ... until she meets James, a little boy in a wheelchair. James and Jenny are the perfect match, and are a perfect team when they compete in the big Spring Gala together.

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Emily Windsnap series comes a captivating adventure about family, friendship, and the bonds that bridge time. The sleepy seaside village of Porthaven hides a mystery: Mia’s grandad has vanished, and nobody knows why. When Mia and her mom rush to Porthaven to help her grandmother, Mia imagines long dreary days with no one to talk to except for the old-time fisherman at her grandparents’ pub. But that’s before Mia finds a diary on an empty, docked fishing boat and starts exchanging notes with a local girl named Dee, a girl who seems much like her. Mia is excited about having a new friend, but why do their plans to meet each other never materialize? And why does Dee claim to be stuck at home due to violent storms when Mia sees only sunny skies? Will Mia be able to solve the mystery of where — and when — her grandfather and friend might be before time and tide forever wash away their futures?

The New York Times best-selling series continues with the half-mermaid embarking on an icy and perilous journey to the Land of the Midnight Sun. Strange storms are blowing up from the ocean, caused by the nightmares of Neptune, King of the Sea. Convinced that his dreams herald an approaching threat, Neptune enlists half-mermaids Emily Windsnap and Aaron for a top-secret mission to find and eliminate the source of the trouble. But Emily and Aaron quickly get in over their heads in the frigid waters of the frozen north. Deep within an alpine lake where magical reflections show what could be rather than what is, the two discover a trove of stolen memories and Neptune’s darkest secret. Double-crosses and double-takes abound in Liz Kessler’s fifth magical mermaid adventure.

Enchanted by Emily Windsnap? Now readers can immerse themselves in all of her adventures with this swishy boxed set. Dive in! Half-mermaid, half-spunky girl, all magic — Emily Windsnap swept a generation of middle grade readers under her spell. Avid fans or those discovering Emily for the first time, kids will swimmingly to this beautiful collection of four Emily Windsnap episodes: 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

A red Early Reader about friendship featuring Jenny the Pony, from bestselling Emily Windsnap author, Liz Kessler, and Laura Tonge, with illustrations from Mike Phillips. Early Readers are stepping stones from picture books to reading books. A blue Early Reader is perfect for sharing and reading together. A red Early Reader is the next step on your reading journey. Amy's pony, Jenny, is lonely in her new stable yard, but soon finds some clever ways to make new friends. From fellow pony Peanut, to kittens, chickens and a family of baby sparrows - there's always friendship to be found.

The author of the best-selling Emily Windsnap series spins a gripping tale about a girl who stumbles into the future--and must change its course to save a friendship. Jenni Green’s family vacation has finally arrived! Even though she has to deal with her annoying little brother, her slightly overbearing dad, and her very pregnant mom, she gets to spend a week with her bestest friend in the world, Autumn. But twelve-year-old Jenni’s world turns upside down when she takes an old elevator to visit Autumn and discovers that everything has changed: not only is her friend in a different condo, but tragedy has struck Autumn’s family, Jenni’s mother has had her baby, and everyone is a year older. When Jenni realizes that the elevator caused her to skip a whole year, she tries to go back, but soon finds that fixing things won’t be as easy as pressing a button. How can she alter the past and keep her family and Autumn’s from falling apart? With honesty and insight, Liz Kessler explores how the bonds of family and friendship can endure through time.

Liz Kessler’s sparkling series about Philippa Fisher and her spunky fairy godsister takes on new magic with fresh new covers — and a whole new look. Philippa Fisher would like nothing more than to summon a fairy. Still, she is taken aback when Daisy, the new girl at school, announces that she is Philippa's fairy godsister—and is reluctantly obliged to grant her human charge the customary three wishes. Now, if only Philippa would wish for something that makes her life better, not worse! With warmth and whimsy, the creator of Emily Windsnap tells a story of friendship, luck, and how we decide what we really want.

When she incurs Neptune's wrath by finding a diamond ring buried under rocks in the ocean, Emily is put under a curse that will force her to choose to be either a mermaid or a human and split up her parents forever.