Emerald by Harriet Muncaster
Harriet Muncaster has expanded her Isadora Moon world to include a new character, Emerald. Published earlier this year, young readers can dive into an underwater adventure with another unique character. Check out the guest blog from author-illustrator, Harriet Muncaster.
I have always loved creating (drawing, writing, crafting!) but it wasn’t until I was fifteen that I realised that being an author and an illustrator was a job you could actually do! We were taken on an art trip to see an exhibition by local author and illustrator James Mayhew and his beautiful children’s illustrations spoke to me in a way that a lot of the classic fine art we had studied never had. My art teacher arranged for me to meet him and James Mayhew was very kind in giving up his time to talk to me and show me his work. From then on, I decided that becoming an author and an illustrator was what I wanted to do. To me it felt like exactly the right way to channel my creativity.
Even as a child, my creative endeavours have always been inspired by nature, my love of miniature things and my love of dark gothic things mixed with glitterier fairy-like things. This is still true in the books I write today, and I just LOVE being able to create whole magical worlds for children to escape into!
I’ve wanted to write a book about mermaids for a long time, and Emerald seemed like the perfect opportunity to expand Isadora Moon’s world. I felt like there was a lot of explore with Isadora’s mermaid friends. It was lovely to write a book set underwater as I really love the sea. Going on holiday to the sea and the beach is probably my favourite thing to do! I think we have some amazingly beautiful beaches here in the UK. I love the crashing waves and turquoise colour of the sea in Cornwall for example. When I was young, we used to stay on a campsite by Pollyjoke beach which I loved. I can always remember wishing a mermaid would pop out of the water! These Cornish camping holidays are what inspired Isadora Moon Goes Camping!
My own childhood experiences form the basis of many of my Isadora Moon stories. With the Isadora Moon books, and now with the Emerald books, I always try to start with everyday experiences, problems, or situations that children can hopefully relate to, then I add a twist of magic and whimsy. With Emerald, we see a character whose family dynamics have recently shifted and she’s learning the best way to make the most of that, with some ups and downs along the way. While I don’t have any direct experience of being in a blended family, I think it’s really important for as many different backgrounds and experiences to be represented in children’s books as possible. Isadora and Mirabelle both have the same family set up so I felt this new series presented an opportunity to show something different for Emerald. The twist here though is, of course, that she’s a mermaid so while children can hopefully relate to Emerald as another young person, there’s also an exciting and perhaps aspirational element to this new magical underwater world she inhabits.
After creating the character of Emerald and developing her background, I discussed what sort of adventures she might have with my editor. We wanted the first story to explore how Emerald would be fitting into her new palace life in her own unique way and the Ocean Parade seemed like the perfect introduction to Emerald’s world because it is the first public royal event that she and her mum will be part of, alongside her new stepfather and step-sister, the king and princess.
In a future Emerald story, I’m looking forward to featuring a mermaid dolls’ house and some tiny underwater sea sprites! This second Emerald story is inspired by my love of miniatures. When I was a child I spent a lot of time taking my little ‘mascot’ toys on adventures or hosting parties for them, and then writing about these events. I love seeing the world through the eyes of someone who is tiny, and it’s a theme I’ve explored already in my Isadora Moon and Victoria Stitch stories. It’s been really fun to try an underwater variation on the theme this time!
There is a theme which runs through all my stories, from Isadora Moon to Mirabelle to Victoria Stitch and now Emerald, which the idea of celebrating the fact that everyone is unique and through this we can all contribute in different ways to the world we live in. It can sometimes be challenging to find your own path in life. For example, I have always loved playing with miniatures and dolls houses, but as a teenager I started to feel very embarrassed about this and put my dolls house away for several years, even though it was something I enjoyed working on. When I got older, I realised it doesn’t matter if other people might think the stuff I enjoy is geeky or uncool, as long as I enjoy it. And ultimately, it was this passion for crafting with miniatures that helped me get my first book published, and still inspires my books today. I hope now that Emerald and the Ocean Parade, along with all my other books, encourage the children who read them to develop the confidence to stay authentic to the person they really are. Just like Emerald finds her own way of staying uniquely herself, I hope readers of my books will discover the superpower of following their passion no matter what anyone else thinks they should be doing instead!
Emerald and the Ocean Parade published on March 2nd 2023.