In this start to a new series starring Shelly the mermaid, a classroom conflict is no fun—even when school is 20,000 leagues under the sea. It’s MerGirl Shelly Siren’s first day at a new school, and she is nervous from the tip of her head to the end of her sparkling mermaid tail. How will she ever fit in at the prestigious Trident Academy? Everyone there is so smart and so pretty and so rich. At least she and her best friend, Echo, are in the same class, but so is Pearl, a spoiled know-it-all who only wants to make trouble for Shelly; Rocky, a MerBoy who loves to tease everyone; and Kiki, a shy MerGirl who’s new to Trident City. At first Shelly and Echo have lots of fun: eating lunch together, trying to make grumpy Mr. Fangtooth smile, and joining after-school clubs. But when Shelly and Echo have an argument about their very first school assignment, Pearl gets involved and makes matters worse. Will Shelly and Echo fix their friendship?

Pearl’s fear of sharks is not unfounded—but can she find a way to feel safe in this Mermaid Tales adventure? Late-breaking news from the Trident City Tide: There have been shark sightings in Trident City! No swimming alone! Pearl’s father even hires a Shark Guard to escort her to school. Pearl starts stirring up lots of trouble with anything that has to do with sharks, even denouncing the skeleton Kiki has in her room. And then, to make matters worse, Pearl accuses Kiki of stealing her precious pearl necklace! And though the undersea waters are indeed filled with danger, Pearl just might discover that true friends can provide a sense of safety!

With the help of her fintastic friends, Echo investigates whether or not fairies really DO exist in this sparkling Mermaid Tales adventure. Echo is excited when her Aunt Crabella and Uncle Leopold visit, especially since Aunt Crabella always has amazing stories about all of her many ocean travels. But when Aunt Crabella tells Echo about the Hairy Fairy—a fairy that visits mermaids while they sleep and purposely tangles their hair—Echo is all set to catch the fairy in the act. Shelly and Kiki tell Echo that fairies aren’t real, but Aunt Crabella says she believes they are. And what’s the harm in believing? When Echo can’t seem to catch the Hairy Fairy, she becomes determined to figure out if fairies really do exist! She teams up with Shelly and Kiki and makes “Fairy Juice” (via a recipe from Rocky Ridge) in order to go on a fairy hunt on Trident City’s majestic Sperm Whale Mountain. But what will they find on their fairy hunt? Will all of Echo’s magical fairy dreams come true?

Enchanting tales of sea nymphs from twelve cultures, including Chinese, Iranian, African, and Native American, are eloquently retold by a master storyteller and illustrated in the distinctive style of each culture. Reprint.

In this Mermaid Tales adventure, Shelly’s not sure she’s ready to be royalty. Not one of the merkids in Shelly Siren’s third grade class can believe the shell-shattering news: Shelly is a princess! A real princess! It’s been a deep, dark secret in Trident City, but now everyone knows—and Shelly doesn’t know how to act. Should she start wearing a glittery crown? Or move to a grand undersea palace? Will her friends have to call her Princess Shelly? She knows it’s an exciting turn of events, but Shelly’s not sure she can truly fit the royal part. Can she find a way to be a princess and stay herself?

The merkids hunt for hidden treasure in this Mermaid Tales adventure! When Rocky finds a seaweed scroll that describes an abandoned pirate ship bursting with jewels, the students are tripping over their tails with excitement. There’s only one problem: the treasure is supposedly guarded by pirate ghosts! But a few “silly ghosts” aren’t going to keep prima donna Pearl away from fame, fortune, and “diamonds as big as a merman’s fist.” The hunt is on! Pearl recruits fellow merkids Rocky and Wanda to help her track down the treasure by swimming all the way past Whale Mountain. But when they discover the pirate ship, they hear eerie moans and groans coming from within. What’s making those sounds? Could the pirate ghosts be real? And can the merkids get the jewels before becoming someone’s—or something’s—lunch?

The third sparkling adventure in the new mermaid series by Dadey. Illustrations.