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A Royal Tea

Book #9 of Mermaid Tales
Illustrated by Tatevik Avakyan

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About The Book

When Shelly meets the Queen of the Western Oceans in this Mermaid Tales adventure, she encounters a royal dilemma!

When a royal messenger announces that Queen Edwina is coming to tea, Shelly is as jittery as a jellyfish! After all, the Queen of the Western Oceans is her great aunt. And despite being a princess, Shelly has never met a queen before. How should she act? What should she wear?

Then Pearl tells Shelly that the queen is going to take Shelly to live in Neptune’s Castle: “It’s where a real princess would live,” Pearl tells her. Shelly is terrified of leaving her home, friends, and beloved grandfather behind. When the royal carriage arrives, she’s trembling from the top of her head to the tip of her tail. What will Queen Edwina think of Princess Shelly? And will she really take Shelly away from the home she loves?

Excerpt

Royal Tea

Too Many Tail Flips!
ECHO REEF TUCKED IN HER fins and flipped two times in a row.

“That was tails down the best flip I’ve ever seen!” Shelly Siren told her. The girls floated outside Echo’s shell in the early morning before school.

Echo grinned as she stretched her pink tail. “Thanks! I’ve been practicing a lot lately. The Tail Flippers are performing a new routine for Parent Night, and Coach Barnacle wants it to be perfect. If anyone misses even one practice, they won’t be able to perform!”

The Tail Flippers was their school’s gymnastics and dance group. Echo was thrilled that she had made the team this year, and she couldn’t wait to show off her new moves on Parent Night.

Echo and Shelly were in the third grade at Trident Academy, a prestigious school for third through tenth graders. They both lived close to the school, but merstudents from faraway waters lived in the dorms. Many families would be crossing the ocean to visit for Parent Night. Besides the Tail Flippers, the Pep Band and the Trident Chorus would perform, and there would even be a student art show.

“Coach Barnacle wants the Shell Wars team to play a scrimmage that night too,” Shelly said. “It will be strange playing in front of so many merpeople.” Shell Wars was a game where players took turns whacking shells with whalebones. Echo knew that Shelly was proud to be part of the team.

Echo grinned. “I’ve never flipped in front of so many merpeople before! It sounds so exciting.” Like Shelly, Echo was used to performing in front of her fellow merstudents, but not strangers.

“I just know you’ll be totally wavy!” Shelly said.

“Maybe I’d better practice even more,” Echo said. “There are only a few days left before Parent Night.”

Echo’s sister, Crystal, stuck her head out of a window of their family’s shell. “Echo, you’d better hurry. It’s almost time for school.”

Crystal had the same dark hair and eyes as Echo, but she was two years older. Crystal stared at Echo’s sparkly T-shirt. “Hey! Isn’t that my shirt you’re wearing?”

Echo groaned. Lately Crystal was always telling her what to do.

“No, it used to be yours,” Echo told her. “Mom gave it to me because it doesn’t fit you anymore. And I’m just going to do one more flip.”

“Fine,” Crystal replied, “but don’t blame me if you’re late.” She paused. “Oh, hi, Shelly. I like your necklace.”

Shelly waved. “Thanks. Yours is pretty too.”

With that, Crystal swam off in a burst of bubbles.

About The Author

Debbie Dadey

Debbie Dadey is an award-winning children’s book author who has written more than 150 books. She is best known for her series The Adventures of the Bailey School Kids, written with Marcia Thornton Jones. Debbie lives with her husband, her children, and three dogs in Sevierville, Tennessee.

About The Illustrator

Tatevik Avakyan has illustrated many books for children, including the Mermaid Tales series.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Aladdin (August 26, 2014)
  • Length: 112 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781481402552
  • Grades: 1 - 4
  • Ages: 6 - 9
  • Lexile ® 690L The Lexile reading levels have been certified by the Lexile developer, MetaMetrics®

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