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16th out of 390 books
—
704 voters
The Tail of Emily Windsnap (Emily Windsnap #1)
"Liz Kessler makes a splash with this tightly written, highly imaginative debut." — FAMILYFUN
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 her away from the water. But when Mom finally agrees to let her take swimming lessons, Emily makes a startling discovery -...more
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 her away from the water. But when Mom finally agrees to let her take swimming lessons, Emily makes a startling discovery -...more
Paperback, 209 pages
Published
April 27th 2010
by Candlewick Press
(first published September 1st 2003)
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A fascinating book about a girl who discovers herself is a mermaid, and she explores the secrets of her life.
Very, very cute book about a girl who, at the age of twelve, has never been fully immersed in water. Although she lives on a house boat, her mother is deathly afraid of water so Emily's never been swimming. The boat is so small there's no room for a bathtub. When she finally takes swimming lessons in school, low and behold she discovers she's a mermaid. Well, sort of...she's got legs when she's out of water, and a tail when she's immersed in water.
Emily is especially endearing because she's alwa...more
Emily is especially endearing because she's alwa...more
5 likes · like · see review
Apr 02, 2008
Brandy
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
children and book lovers
Shelves:
childrens
My daughter Emilee got this book as a gift from my mom along with the second one in the series. She tried to read it and it was too boring for her. I decided that I would give it a try. I will say that the first 4-5 chapters really go into too much detail describing surroundings (which is why Emilee didn't like it) but once you are past that, the story is actually quite good. It is a childrens book and not deep. Sometimes when I read a childrens book I find myself loving the story but getting re...more
2 likes · like · see review
Feb 10, 2009
Beth
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Parents to read with 8-11 yr old kids
Shelves:
read-with-emma
My daughter was given this as a Birthday gift and we just finished reading together as our before bed chapter book. It was very enjoyable for me as well as for her -- a good mystery and well written too. It's always great when we find a book we both enjoy and that is appropriate for both kids and adults.
2 likes · like · see review
I think the book The tail of Emily Winsnap is a great book bacause it is iniersting and it is a book where a girl discovers she is a mirmade.Emily and her mom have been living on a boat her hole life.Her mom has never said a word about her father but she knows she will figer out something. One day when Emilys at a pool her legs start to cramp,and she feels as her legs come together forming a tail.She doges out of the pool and knew something strange happened.That night she sneaks away to the ocea...more
3 likes · like · see review
it was good nothing compared to any of the twilight books but still realy good!
2 likes · like · see review
Emily Windsnap discovers that when she is immersed in water she changed into a mermaid. She makes a best friend who is a mermaid and attempts to find her father whom she suspects might be a merman.
I can totally see why 10-year-old girls go crazy for this series at my library. 1) It's about mermaids. Mermaids are pretty cool. 2) It's cool because it's British. 3) It's about mermaids. Mermaids are pretty cool. :) I enjoyed the audio recording and I think the narrator has a great voice for the sto...more
I can totally see why 10-year-old girls go crazy for this series at my library. 1) It's about mermaids. Mermaids are pretty cool. 2) It's cool because it's British. 3) It's about mermaids. Mermaids are pretty cool. :) I enjoyed the audio recording and I think the narrator has a great voice for the sto...more
Wowser. I stumbled upon this book at Barnes and Noble yesterday and have been quickly turning pages ever since. Hold on...another British author who writes youth fiction that is both fun AND intelligent? How have I missed these books by Liz Kessler? This, the first Emily Windsnap book, was published a decade ago.
While this book was written for children, it captivated this grown-up to the point of needing to know NOW. It is a rare book that delivers both suspense and satisfaction in this day and...more
While this book was written for children, it captivated this grown-up to the point of needing to know NOW. It is a rare book that delivers both suspense and satisfaction in this day and...more
Feb 13, 2013
Hannah
added it
Everyone has a secret, but Emily’s is a little different from most. She’s a great swimmer, in fact one may even say she's a mermaid. Here’s the secret, she is! The tail of Emily Windsnap is an amazingly written fantasy with suspense in each page and details that will fulfill your biggest imagenation. Written by Liz Kessler, this book makes you fall in love with the thought of living in a glorious world under the sea. The main character Emily lives on a boat, which is odd because her mother has...more
Beschreibung:
Emily hat ein Geheimnis.
Jedoch ist es anders, als andere Geheimnisse, unheimlich irgendwie, wie sie selbst findet. Doch sie kann es keinem erzählen, zu groß ist die Angst, man könnte sie in ein Versuchslabor stecken. Zusammen mit ihrer Mutter lebt sie auf einem Boot, das sie liebevoll "King" nennen. Und obwohl sie ständig von Wasser umgeben sind, findet es Emilys Mutter alles andere als gut, dass Emily schwimmen lernen möchte. Doch irgendwann gibt sie nach. Im Schwimmbad angekommen...more
Emily hat ein Geheimnis.
Jedoch ist es anders, als andere Geheimnisse, unheimlich irgendwie, wie sie selbst findet. Doch sie kann es keinem erzählen, zu groß ist die Angst, man könnte sie in ein Versuchslabor stecken. Zusammen mit ihrer Mutter lebt sie auf einem Boot, das sie liebevoll "King" nennen. Und obwohl sie ständig von Wasser umgeben sind, findet es Emilys Mutter alles andere als gut, dass Emily schwimmen lernen möchte. Doch irgendwann gibt sie nach. Im Schwimmbad angekommen...more
Storyline
The Tail of Emily Windsnap is a book about a girl called Emily Windsnap. She has uncovered her own amazing secret. She found out in a school swimming lesson. Emily had never been in water before, and when she stepped into the pool and started to swim, she felt her legs join together, and it made them feel like stone. She went out of the water, but, determined to find out what happened, she sneaked out that night and went into the water (she lived on a boat), it happened again. She l...more
The Tail of Emily Windsnap is a book about a girl called Emily Windsnap. She has uncovered her own amazing secret. She found out in a school swimming lesson. Emily had never been in water before, and when she stepped into the pool and started to swim, she felt her legs join together, and it made them feel like stone. She went out of the water, but, determined to find out what happened, she sneaked out that night and went into the water (she lived on a boat), it happened again. She l...more
The Tail of Emily Windsnap is a book about Emily, a twelve year old who has always lived on a houseboat. Emily is thrilled when her mother, who has always been terrified of the water, finally lets her sign up for swimming lessons at school. But she makes a startling discovery about her identity once she gets in. Whenever she's entirely submerged in water, she gains a mermaids tail and has the ability to breathe and swim for extended periods underwater. Eventually, she befriends Shona, a full-tim...more
The Tail of Emily Windsnap by: Liz Kessler
Fantasy
209 pages
The Tail of Emily Windsnap is about a 12 year old girl named Emily Windsnap. When the book first began it tells the story of how Emily first finds out she is a mermaid(she didn't know before then.) It all started out when she decided to join the swim class in her new middle school. She never had been under or fully in water before because her mother was scared of the water. But when she first dives into the pool at her swim class she sudd...more
Fantasy
209 pages
The Tail of Emily Windsnap is about a 12 year old girl named Emily Windsnap. When the book first began it tells the story of how Emily first finds out she is a mermaid(she didn't know before then.) It all started out when she decided to join the swim class in her new middle school. She never had been under or fully in water before because her mother was scared of the water. But when she first dives into the pool at her swim class she sudd...more
Jun 21, 2012
Sonia Hernandez
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
To most people
Recommended to Sonia by:
No one
What I really liked about The Tail of Emily Windsnap is the author's feeling for the writing because it is showing that it was a big deal when she found out she was a mermaid.And I also like the plot because the 12 year old Emily windsnap's mom has been keeping her away from the water.Until she let her take swimming classes and that's where she discovers that she is a mermaid.Also,I like the setting because it is perfect because it is in her boat house which is in the water and also it is in the...more
Für die 12-jährige Emily ist das Leben am Meer nicht immer leicht. Zusammen mit ihrer Mutter lebt sie auf einem wunderschönen Hausboot, dass von allen nur die King genannt wird. Obwohl sie vom Wasser magisch angezogen wird, war sie noch nie im Meer und durfte bislang auch nicht am Schwimmunterricht teilnehmen.
Dank jahrelanger Bettelei bei ihrer Mutter darf sie endlich am Sportunterricht teilnehmen und ist sofort eins mit dem Wasser – bis ihre Füße plötzlich zusammenwachsen und sie eine Schwanzfl...more
Dank jahrelanger Bettelei bei ihrer Mutter darf sie endlich am Sportunterricht teilnehmen und ist sofort eins mit dem Wasser – bis ihre Füße plötzlich zusammenwachsen und sie eine Schwanzfl...more
The Tail of Emily Windsnap
I just got done reading The Tail of Emily Windsnap by Liz Kessler. This book is a fantasy book. This is because it is about mermaids.
The main character of this book is Emily Windsnap. The main idea of this book is the secret Emily keeps and the trouble she has keeping it from friends. If you want to find out Emily’s big secret you have to read the books.
Books you ask? There are four books in this series so far. I am now reading book two. Book two is The Tale of Emily W...more
I just got done reading The Tail of Emily Windsnap by Liz Kessler. This book is a fantasy book. This is because it is about mermaids.
The main character of this book is Emily Windsnap. The main idea of this book is the secret Emily keeps and the trouble she has keeping it from friends. If you want to find out Emily’s big secret you have to read the books.
Books you ask? There are four books in this series so far. I am now reading book two. Book two is The Tale of Emily W...more
I think that this book was awsome & cool. My favorite parts are when Emily meets Shona & when Emily meets her dad (such a daughter-fatherly moment). & also when Emily's mother was sleeping in on a Sunday, - to me it's hilarious . The part that I really pictured in my head was when Emily pinched her father & they talked normally but i thought it was gonna be an awkward silence. My favorite character was Shona Silkfin, cause, she's just me, always there for her friend - like a side...more
“So my legs had joined together. Suddenly I was an eagle, an air plane, a dolphin- gliding through the water” (Pg.17). This was the moment twelve-year old Emily Windsnap uncovers the deepest darkest secret she has ever and will ever have. She was a mermaid. The Tale of Emily Windsnap by Liz Kesller, is a story about a young girl’s journey to find out the truth about her and her family.
Emily has always had an interest in learning to swim however her mother was always against this idea because...more
Emily has always had an interest in learning to swim however her mother was always against this idea because...more
The Tail of Emily Windsnap is an enchanting story about a girl, Emily, who is part mermaid. She does not realize that she is different until she takes a swim class in seventh grade. When she gets into the water she grows a tail and becomes a mermaid. Emily tries to understand why she is like this as she swims through the ocean. Luckily she meets a good friend underwater, and starts to explore her past. Emily and her friend work together to solve her family mysteries while building their friendsh...more
The book The Tail of Emily Windsnap is about a girl who finds out she is really a mermaid in the water and a person on land. Her mother doesnt really know about it but she still wants to know who her father was. Another mermaid named Shona helps her reasearch about her father and pretty soon its known that her father is imprissoned. After a long time they decide to help out and tell her mother but it seems her "Friend" has wiped out her memory. They go throguh to the King but it looks like they...more
How would it be to be able to turn into a Mermaid! In the first book of this series, Emily talks her mom into swimming lessons. When she gets into the pool, she discovers that she can change into a Mermaid! The Mer-people have to wipe the memories of all the people who saw her become a mermaid so that her secret will be safe. Emily learns that her father is a Merman. She meets a mermaid friend named Shona and from her she learns about the underwater world. Among other things, she learns that mar...more
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Jan 02, 2009
Jocey
added it
The Tail of Emily Windsnap, is a book about a girl who really wants to find her father. Emily is the main character. She is 12 years old and she has grown up without a father. Her internal struggle is that she wishes she had a father. Her external struggle is that her mother doesn't remember anything about her father.
During my time reading this book I made a text-to-world connection. There was a part in the book where Emily was letting a girl name Mandy intimidate her. It reminded me of people...more
During my time reading this book I made a text-to-world connection. There was a part in the book where Emily was letting a girl name Mandy intimidate her. It reminded me of people...more
Emily Windsnap discovers she's a mermaid when she takes her first swimming lesson at age 11--odd, since she and her mother (who is terrified of water) live on a boat docked at a port town. Soon Emily discovers a whole world she's never even suspected--and a secret she's determined to break.
This is a perfectly serviceable book of its kind, entirely predictable and with settings more than a bit reminiscent of a certain Disney film, but the author manages to avoid the most egregious pitfalls of les...more
This is a perfectly serviceable book of its kind, entirely predictable and with settings more than a bit reminiscent of a certain Disney film, but the author manages to avoid the most egregious pitfalls of les...more
What a sparkling, fun read! Emily Windsnap is 12 years old, funny, thoughtful and at times head strong and stubborn. She is starting her first day of 7th grade. Her new middle school is ten times bigger than elementary school and so confusing to her but not everyone else, her best friend is no longer her best friend, she is being picked on and she wonders why mom has never really told her about her dad. Then she learns she has something new and different to be concerned about. What if people fin...more
1 like · like · see review
Jan 29, 2011
Ash E.
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
preteen girls
Recommended to Ash by:
Cori Johnson
Shelves:
review-complete,
young-fantasy
REVIEW COMPLETE
What if every time you were submerged in water, your legs suddenly grew together and morphed into a tail - a MERMAID'S tail?
This is what happens to Emily Windsnap in The Tail of Emily Windsnap. Her whole life, Emily has been terrified of the water. Upon her first encounter with her school's swimming pool, she finds that her fears were not unwarranted - something strange begins to happen to her. She discovers that every time she swims, she turns into a mermaid!
Desperate for answers...more
What if every time you were submerged in water, your legs suddenly grew together and morphed into a tail - a MERMAID'S tail?
This is what happens to Emily Windsnap in The Tail of Emily Windsnap. Her whole life, Emily has been terrified of the water. Upon her first encounter with her school's swimming pool, she finds that her fears were not unwarranted - something strange begins to happen to her. She discovers that every time she swims, she turns into a mermaid!
Desperate for answers...more
Emily lives on a houseboat with her mother, although she’s never been swimming and has never taken a bath (hmm) and her mother never speaks of her father. While taking swimming lessons for the first time in school, Emily feels her legs stiffening up. Little does she know, she is a mermaid! Or rather, half-human, half-mermaid, the latter coming forth when she is submerged in water. This discovery leads to an adventure takes Emily to a whole new world underwater where she meets new friends and lea...more
Emily was twelve now which meant a whole new school, new friends, practically a new life. Almost all of her friends were going to a different school, the one closer to their homes, and she would be attending her seventh grade away from those friendships she’d already developed. Over the years she’d tried to convince her mom to let her learn how to swim but one way or another, it never happened. You see, Emily’s mom was petrified of water but she lived on the coast in their houseboat The King of...more
Oct 25, 2012
Jimena Gonzalez
added it
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 fathe...more
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 fathe...more
You know that book you read as child and randomly find at the library and think "can it possibly be as good as I remember?" Sometimes the answer is an unequivocal yes (see: anything by Beverly Clearly), other times a disheartening no (see: the Mandie series). Sometimes they're so bad you're a bit embarrassed to admit you read and loved them in the first place. The Tail of Emily Windsnap falls squarely in the latter category with the sad addition (in my case) of no residual adoration since I neve...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Did you like this? What was you favorite book in the series? | 17 | 33 | Apr 30, 2013 03:58pm | |
| emily windsnap | 12 | 59 | Dec 05, 2011 08:50pm |
Liz Kessler is the author of three novels about Philippa Fisher as well as the NEW YORK TIMES best-selling Emily Windsnap series. She lives in Manchester, England.
More about Liz Kessler...
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“The tail of Emily Windsnap"everyone has a secret . mines alittle different. i figured out i am a mermaid.”
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10 people liked it
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updated Apr 20, 2008 06:00pm