There are four young princesses in the Jewel Kingdom: Roxanne, Sabrina, Emily, and Demetra. In the first book in the series, each young princess is given charge of a different section of their kingdom in order to learn responsibility and other skills and lessons that they will need to be good rulers. Every story in the series has a lesson or moral.

Each princess and her section of the kingdom is represented a different jewel, and each princess has a special animal/creature companion. The wizard of the Jewel Kingdom, Gallivant, has also given each girl a different item that gives her a special magical ability.

Roxanne – The Ruby Princess. She rules the Red Mountains from the Ruby Palace, which is made of stone and has secret passages. Her companion is a dragon named Hapgood. She has a magic shield that can make her invisible.

Sabrina – The Sapphire Princess. She rules the Blue Lake and lives in the Sapphire Palace, which floats on the lake. She has a butterfly companion named Zazz, and she can use magical glitter dust to fly.

Emily – The Emerald Princess. She rules the forest of Greenwood. Her castle is a gigantic tree house called the Green Palace, and it’s full of rope ladders and swings. Her special companion is a unicorn named Arden. She has a magical pan flute that she can use to change her size. Her personality is mischievous, and she likes to play practical jokes. Through the course of the books, she has to learn self-control and consideration for other people, especially when it comes to her pranks.

Demetra – The Diamond Princess. She rules the snowy White Winterland. The Diamond Palace where she lives is made of crystal. She has a magical mirror that can show her things happening in other places.

The princesses’ parents are King Regal and Queen Jemma. They rule the kingdom from the Jewel Palace at the center of the kingdom. The princesses lived in the Jewel Palace with them before they were given their own palaces in their own lands.

Their arch-enemy is Lord Bleak, and he and his daughter show up throughout the series, trying to take over the kingdom. Lord Bleak was actually the former ruler of the Jewel Kingdom, before King Regal and Queen Jemma took over. He was a terrible and cruel ruler, and the period of his rule is called the Dark Times. This was before the young princesses were born, so they don’t remember it. Lord Bleak was banished from the land, and he supposedly lives overseas, but he and his daughter, Princess Rudgrin, still believe that the Jewel Kingdom should be theirs, and they continually scheme to get it back. Lord Bleak’s minions are called Darklings, and they have been turned ugly because of the evil inside them.

Each book in this children’s fantasy series is a short chapter book, and the books originally came with small pieces of costume jewelry for the young readers.

The books are by Jahnna N. Malcolm, which is a pseudonym for a husband and wife writing team who have written other books and series, including Scared Stiff.

Books in the Series:

The Ruby Princess Runs Away (1997)

When Roxanne and her sisters are officially crowned and given their own sections of the kingdom to rule, Roxanne is daunted by her new responsibilities and lonely because she has never been apart from her sisters before. She tries to runs away from her new responsibilities, but she discovers that she truly cares about her subjects and what would happen to them without her.

The Sapphire Princess Meets a Monster (1997)

Sabrina finds a lake monster, but all is not as is seems.

The Emerald Princess Plays a Trick (1997)

Emily’s jokes go too far, and she learns that if you aren’t careful about jokes, people could get hurt, and they might not believe you when you need them to believe something important.

The Diamond Princess Saves the Day (1997)

The Ruby Princess Sees a Ghost (1997)

Roxanne discovers that her palace in the Red Mountains is haunted!

The Sapphire Princess Hunts for Treasure (1998)

Sabrina finds a bottle with a treasure map.

The Emerald Princess Finds a Fairy (1998)

Emily uses her magic pan flute to shrink herself so she can visit the Fairy Kingdom with her fairy friend, but her spell won’t last forever.

The Diamond Princess and the Magic Ball (1998)

Demetra hopes that her new crystal ball will show her the future, but she discovers that it actually has an evil spell.

The Ruby Princess and the Baby Dragon (1998)

Roxanne finds a baby dragon and wants to keep it and raise it herself, but she has to do what’s best for it.

The Sapphire Princess Helps a Mermaid (1999)

A young mermaid from Undersea called Atlanta visits Sabrina, but can Sabrina really believe all the tall tales Atlanta tells?

The Emerald Princess Follows a Unicorn (1999)

Emily’s unicorn, Arden, is losing her powers, and the two of them have to go to the Land of the Unicorns to get them back.

The Diamond Princess Steps Through the Mirror (1999)

Demetra switches places with a girl who lives on the other side of magic mirror, but what happens when the other girl doesn’t want to switch back?

The Jewel Princesses and the Missing Crown (1998)

The princesses’ parents have vanished, and the princesses must face Lord Bleak by themselves.