Get onboard with the Cruise Ship Kid mysteries!
About Author
ReadingZone catches up with Emma Swan, author of the the Cruise Ship Kid comedy mysteries, Thief at Sea and her latest adventure, Kidnap at Sea.
Emma Swan is a writer, comedian and actor and has starred in a West-End run of Horrible Histories. As well as her children's books, Emma writes plays and songs, and narrates audiobooks.
She was born in Rotherham but spent much of her childhood on board cruise ships as her parents were cruise directors for P&O Cruises. These experiences, and the diaries she kept as a child, helped inspire her award-winning Cruise Ship Kid adventures
Interview
March 2026
Come on board to help solve the Cruise Ship Kid's latest mystery, Kidnap at Sea
Actor and author Emma Swan launched her Cruise Ship Kid adventures with Thief at Sea and she has followed it up with this month's launch of Kidnap at Sea. Inspired by her own childhood spent at sea, these diary-style, comedy-crime adventures follow Silver as she works with her older friends, 'the Gang', to solve mysteries on board their ship.
Great stories to read aloud, Silver's adventures encourage diary-writing and writing letters, as well as exploring inter-generational friendships and encouraging children's own detective skills!
Cruise Ship Kid: Thief at Sea (book 1) Cruise Ship Kid: Kidnap at Sea (book 2)
Review: "Fabulous fun and fabulously funny, Kidnap at Sea is perfectly pitched to engage and entertain young (and old!) readers." Sue, ReadingZone
Creative Writing Challenge from Emma Swan:
In Cruise Ship Kid: Kidnap at Sea! Silver writes lots of letters to her friend, Mo. I love letter writing and receiving post. Therefore, my challenge is to write your own letter!
This letter can be to anyone but I recommend writing it to an older person in your life. This could be a relative, an older friend, or even a famous older person (but you might not be able to post that one!). Or, if I'm lucky enough that you have read or are reading 'Cruise Ship Kid', why not write a letter to a member of The Gang? Here are some questions you could ask them to find out more about their lives:
Which do you prefer chocolate or crisps? (Silver loves this question.)
What was your favourite thing to do when you were 10 and 1/4?
Q&A with Emma Swan: Introducing Kidnap at Sea, the latest Cruise Ship Kid adventure!
"I spent a lot of my early years of childhood on cruise ships. My parents worked onboard
and we lived in our cabin at the bottom of the ship."
1. Can you tell us a little about yourself and your life as an actor and author?
Hello! I'm Emma Swan, children's author of the Cruise Ship Kid series and an actor who works a lot with 'Horrible Histories'. Currently no day in my life looks the same! Some days I am performing on the West End, others I'm writing at home.
On some of my favourite days I'm visiting schools all over the country with my author event. (You will find me sprinting for a bus or a train on most days though haha!) Since I was little, my dream was to do both writing and acting, so I feel very lucky to currently be doing both.
2. What happens in your Cruise Ship Kid series?
Cruise Ship Kid is about a girl, called Silver, who sails around the world solving crimes with her over 80's pals - The Gang. It is a diary-style, comedy-crime series that is also interactive. Silver lives on a cruise ship as her Mum works onboard and she wants to befriend the reader. She likes to ask them a lot of questions and there are spaces for the reader to write in the book and help solve the crime!
3. Silver has a very unusual childhood - what inspired you to write stories about a child growing up on a cruise ship?
I spent a lot of my early years of childhood on cruise ships. My parents worked onboard and we lived in our cabin at the bottom of the ship. This unusual start to life inspired my stories as my main character, Silver, lives on ships.
4. Is your character Silver based on you as a child, then? What was it like being a 'cruise ship kid' yourself?
I think Silver is much cooler than I am, but there are definitely lots of similarities between us. When I was very little my Mum ship-schooled me just like Silver learns onboard. I went to school on land as I got older but Silver is full time 'ship-schooled'.
For me, it was amazing to travel the world at such a young age and I always have (and always will) love the food on cruise ships. The downside is unfortunately, I wasn't a little detective like Silver but I'm sure I'd have liked to be!
5. Have you drawn on any real life incidents for Silver's adventures? Would you recommend children draw on their own world for their stories?
Yes, the chocolate buffet in Cruise Ship Kid: Thief at Sea! is based on the real chocolate buffet I used to visit a LOT on ships. A huge buffet full of chocolate, with giant chocolate sculptures . . . what could be better?
In Cruise Ship Kid: Kidnap at Sea! Silver and The Gang visit the Caribbean. I went there to research for this book which was amazing.
I would definitely recommend children drawing on their own world for their stories. I recommend diary writing in book one and letter writing in book two. They are both such brilliant ways to inspire creative writing.
6. Why did you decide to make Silver's experiences on the cruise ship into detective mysteries? And how do you encourage young readers in developing with their own detecting skills?
I think a cruise ship is a great location for a mystery as there is nowhere for the criminal to escape in the middle of the ocean. Also, you have all your suspects in one place, but also travelling around the world.
This interactive mystery lets the reader choose their own suspects and find their own evidence, from the text, to help Silver crack the case!
7. You also explore the world of social media and influencers in Kidnap at Sea - why did you want to look at the other side of the lens in this story?
Yes, Cruise Ship Kid: Kidnap at Sea! touches lightly upon phone use and social media. One of the messages in the book is that sometimes we can spend too much time looking down at the screens in our hands and miss out on the world around us. My school event also explores this theme.
8. The illustrations are great - any favourite characters or moments in the story?
Aren't they? The illustrator Katie Saunders is amazing. I am so lucky to work with her. My favourite characters in the series, apart from Silver, who would be very cross without a mention, are Tommy and Sylvia. They are part of The Gang, who help Silver to solve crimes, and they are based on my own grandparents. Tommy and Sylvia are from Yorkshire, love line dancing and wearing matching outfits - just like my own Momma and Grandad, who were the best people I've ever known.
9. What else do you have planned for Silver - any more cruise adventures to come?
I do! Book two is about the kidnap of an influencer and in book three, a piece of artwork is stolen from the ship's onboard gallery. I would like to see Silver and the Gang travel all over the world solving many more crimes!
10. What kinds of things do you enjoy doing outside of your busy schedule to relax? Do you still enjoy the occasional cruise?
I love this question as I am actually going on a cruise in a couple of days. Yes, I still enjoy cruising but the experience is very different now I am a passenger, rather than a mini crew member living at the bottom of the ship. Travelling and experiencing new places definitely inspires my writing. I'd like to do a trip to the Norwegian Fjords in the future and I think Silver and The Gang would enjoy this too!
School Visits: I absolutely love doing school visits and when I am not writing or acting, I am filling my calendar with as many visits as possible.
I offer a KS2 assembly that is very interactive it includes singing, magazine-style quizzes and even a few interruptions from Silver herself! I talk about my life as a West End actor, a children's author and my childhood at sea. It's SHORE to be a good time.
To book a school event, please fill out the form on my website emmaswanauthor.com or contact my school events email - [email protected] I hope to SEA you soon!
Cruise Ship Kid: Kidnap at Sea!
Cruise Ship Kid: Thief At Sea!
