Emerald and the Runaway Royal

Emerald #4

by Harriet Muncaster (Illustrator)

Meet Isadora Moon's mermaid friend, Emerald! Emerald is learning how to be a mermaid princess, but there are just so many rules. She loves having fun with her friends and exploring her underwater world with her pet octopus, Inkibelle, she doesn't want to be stuck in the palace with everyone looking at her and checking that she's doing things the proper, royal way.

Emerald's mum and stepdad King Auster are busy preparing for a very important visit from another royal family-The Seadragons!
Emerald is on her best 'princess-like' behaviour even though she'd much rather be wearing her comfy clothes, hanging out with her friends and pet Octopus, Inkibelle.
When Prince Mola Seadragon takes a Manta Ray from the royal stable and runs away, Emerald follows. On an adventure across Scallop City, Emerald and Mola discover they have much more in common than they thought.

128 pages, Paperback

Published April 1, 2025

About the author

Harriet Muncaster studied illustration at Norwich University College of the Arts before going on to get an MA in children’s book illustration at the Cambridge School of Art. In creating the art for her first book for children, she was thrilled to have found a good outlet for her lifelong fascination with miniatures. She lives in Hertfordshire, England.

Reviews

[Joey Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The royal family from Aquilla are coming to stay, forcing Emerald to wear clothes that really aren’t her style. When the young prince Mola is missing Emerald is the one to find him, she shows him all round Scallop City and makes him feel more like himself.

This was really cute and I liked that Emerald was the one to help him come out of his shell and open up about what was wrong. It was a very stressful day for both families and she was able to show him the normal parts of the city.

I felt so bad for Emerald that her mum forced her to wear clothing that wasn’t her style, it made her uncomfortable. Mola was feeling the exact same way in the clothing he was told to wear. They could have still worn pretty and suitable things that matched their personal styles.

A very adorable addition to the series, it’s nice that Emerald is starting to get used to being royal, she’s more confident about it in each book. I love the colour choices in Emerald’s series and I love the beautiful illustrations throughout. Such a good read in the Emerald series.

[Gabby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes it is better to talk about the things that are getting to you and to stay as true to yourself as possible. Running away may put you in greater danger than you ever even realised especially if you are somewhere you don't know. Emerald feels uncomfortable and tries to talk at least the ones you need to watch are the quieter ones. It shows how sometimes you withdraw from society well when you are upset or uncomfortable which can lead to things going wrong fast. Well drawn and a happy ending but an important message.

[Hayley Thomson-Henderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely first novel. My daughter loved it 🙂

[Kirsty Stanley · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Ava · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was a amazing, fantasix read it was quite interesting as well. I definitely rate this a 5 stars because it was all about mermaids and under the see, and Iove that.