Seahorse

Nature Storybooks

by Chris Butterworth

In the warm ocean among the waving sea grass meadows, an eye like a small black bead is watching the fish dart by. Who does it belong to? Seahorse! Dive into the magical, underwater realm of one of the shyest fish of all! Discover the secrets of a seahorse's life cycle, and find out about its food, its habitat and how it's the dad, not the mum, who gives birth to their babies! Made in consultation with seahorse expert, Colin Wells of Plymouth Marine Aquarium, this book contains accurate information suitable for classroom projects and activities.

Genres: Picture Books, Nonfiction, Animals, Science, Childrens, Banned Books, Nature

32 pages, Hardcover

First published April 11, 2006

About the author

CHRIS BUTTERWORTH is the author of more than seventy nonfiction books for children on such diverse subjects as influenza, Antarctic exploration, and Ancient Egypt. "A sea horse looks as magical as a mermaid," she says, "but sea horses really exist. We need to know as much as we can about them, so we can protect them."

Reviews

[Mariah Roze · Rating 4 out of 5]

Students learned a lot from this book.

"In a warm ocean among the waving sea grass meadows, an eye like a small black bead is watching the fish dart by. Who does it belong to? Seahorse! Dive into the magical, underwater realm of one of the shyest fish of all. Discover the secrets of a seahorse's life cycle, find out about its food, habitat, and how dad gives birth to the babies!"

[Oblomov · Rating 5 out of 5]

An introduction to seahorses, that has met with unexpected and grotesquely stupid controversy.

Art: 4/5
A rather muted colour palatte which, while not vibrant, doesn't take away from the beautifully wistful, stamp like images.

Content: 5/5
Simple and informative, does exactly what you want it to do and very well: tells you all about seahorses, from what they eat, how they mate, how they swim and includes templates of several different species. Also gives you little pieces of trivia besides the 'story' of a male seahorse meeting his mate, and then the brief journey of one of his daughters. Most of the details I already knew from wildlife documentaries, but I didn't know/remember that the latin name for seahorse is 'Hippocampus' which means 'horse-like sea monster', which led me to wiki where I found out our own hippocampus is named that because it's shaped like said sealife. I'm sure there's other people snorting at me for not knowing that piece of information but sod off, I'm happy to learn something.

The controversy: 5/5 Karens and Kevins (apologies to those actually named Karen and Kevin who are not utter morons)
The reason I've even heard of this book is because of this asinine bollocks:
Hugging Sea Horse Book Is Too Racy For Schools, Tennessee Moms Group Says
Yes, two seahorses holding tails and dancing as they do in nature is apparently too erotic and inappropriate for a childrens book. The only image I could call even vaguely sexual (and this is pushing it) is the two seahorses pressing their bellies together, so mama can shoot some babies into papa.
Admitedly, the birthing role reversal could be confusing for children, providing said children are raised by the insipid cretins opposed to this book, because God knows those poor crotch gremlins are unlikely to get sex education elsewhere.
The cited article also covers some other ludicrous literary complaints by the same people who think seeing men wearing black nail varnish will infect their children with 'the gay', and is well worth reading for a laugh or a cry at how pathetically hateful our species can be.

This is a lovely book, and I highly reccomend any librarians reading this immediately order it for their stock, even if just as a protest. And preferably wearing a t-shirt with two seahorses holding tails in the shape of a heart, with 'love is love, you dimwitted wastes of carbon' in bright pink letters.

And, because this review needs it, behold! Rampant, hardcore aquatic porn:

(image from National Geographic, not the book. I just thought it was quite sweet)

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man, am I glad that I got to read this risqué book before the Moms for Liberty have it banned.
https://www.salon.com/2021/09/25/moms...

In all seriousness though, it is a great introduction to sea horses with beautiful stamped illustrations.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

A parent group at a nearby school district targeted this book over depictions of “gender fluidity” and claimed it had an “agenda.” They also objected to pages showing sea horses mating. A textbook committee at the district allowed the book to continue being used for now, but instead of showing two of the pages, teachers will have to read the text without showing the illustrations. There’s also apparently an accompanying video, but to be honest, I’m befuddled about what exactly teachers are supposed to do - showing the video without the narration?

My take: all of the books that this parent group objected to are totally great books, but targeting this one in particular is the weirdest thing ever. I think it’s just another way of being rabidly anti-trans. This book is totally and completely charming, plus has some solid science content. In addition, the illustrations on the two pages that are getting “adjusted” by being banned are really cute. They show seahorses with their tails wrapped together and then their stomachs together to transfer eggs. Nothing graphic. Nothing inappropriate. Although I personally liked the illustration style of Mister Seahorse by Eric Carle a bit better, this is overall a really charming and wonderful book. Highly recommend.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wanted to read this book after hearing about how the Williamson County School district was banning it from their schools due to parental demands. Per the twitter thread by Anna Caudill (found here: https://twitter.com/annacaudill4/stat...) the group's complaints were as follows: "MFL complains it’s too sexy & “only male fish get pregnant”. Also there’s “bending, squeezing, & pushing”. Frankly this is a short and simple picture book depicting the life cycle of the Sea Horse, which is one of the only fish where the male not the female carry the fertilized eggs to term in a pouch similar to a kangaroo. They are also one of the few sea creatures where they tend to mate for life. It is short and informative for the really young reader teaching about one of the more unusual creatures in the sea. The pictures are beautiful and it portrays all the basic information in regards to the sea horse in terms that young children can understand. The objection to the words "bending, squeezing, & pushing" were description of how the male sea horse gives "birth" to the babies. Although the book version I read also came with a CD I didn't listen to it. All in all this is one of the stupidest reasons to ban a book. Run out and read it for yourself.

[babyhippoface · Rating 3 out of 5]

The life cycle of the Barbour’s sea horse is shared in story form while words in smaller print present additional facts about sea horse anatomy and habits. The shining stars of this title are the wonderful illustrations made from vinyl engravings, watercolor washes, and printed wood textures. Their beautiful simplicity echoes the gentle rhythm of the well-written text. This title belongs in classroom units on sea life and on the shelves of every elementary library.

[Julianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review provided by The Hope Chest Reviews
Sea Horse: The Shyest Fish in the Sea is a children’s, non-fiction, picture book that teaches kids all about sea horses. They’ll learn things like where sea horses live and how they can hide in the coral by camouflaging themselves to their surroundings, what they eat, who their predators are, and how they swim. It also discusses how these tiny sea creatures mate for life and how they reproduce.

This book came to my attention because I’d seen it pop up a number of times on recent lists of books being banned in schools and libraries, so I just had to find out what all the fuss was for myself. After reading it, quite frankly, I found that it’s nothing but that: just a manufactured fuss over nothing. Sure the book talks about how sea horses mate and reproduce, but it’s done so in a gentle, completely age-appropriate and non-offensive way. There’s nothing explicit about it at all, instead just relating factual information about these wondrous creatures. In fact, I found this book to be adorable and the gently flowing narrative soothing. I think it’s cute (and kind of romantic) that sea horses mate for life and I thought the way they twine their tails together during their courtship dance was akin to humans holding hands. It even educated me as an adult. I had no idea that it’s the males who gestate and give birth to their young. Who knew?! The illustrations are a lovely compliment to the text. They’re mostly done in shades of bluish-green, which I’m sure is meant to mimic the ocean, with splashes of browns and reds to give it some color. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this sweet book that definitely doesn’t deserve the bad rap that some people are trying to give it. I highly recommend it for early elementary age kids who are interested in animals or sea life.

[Juli Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Colorful, relief-printed illustrations stand out here. I love seahorses, so I loved this book.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not nearly as sexy as alleged by Moms For Liberty. Quite normal and informative.

[Melissa Talley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had lots of cool information about sea horses. Some interesting things I learned was that in order for a sea horse to go up they lift their heads if they want to go down they put their heads down and curl up their bodies. The male is the one who carries the babies in their pouch after the mother puts them there. A seahorse can have as many as 100-200 babies at a time. A seahorse is mature at 6 months and can start reproducing after one year. All in all I really enjoyed this book, it had a lot of interesting facts and the illustrations were interesting as well.

I did this book for my Gryphor

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned something from this book!

[Lee Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good for a banned book!

[Helen Pugsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read banned books. Learn forbidden sea horse knowledge

[Lauren Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story provides children information about Sea Horses in a storytelling way. The book follows the journey of one sea horse providing information about it along the way. The story tells about how a see horse has 200-300 babies at a time as well as how they move about the water, what they eat, their limited predators, and the life cycle of the sea horse. On each page, there are extra informational facts about sea horses. The illustrations throughout the story are wonderful showing the movements of the sea horse, the habitat, and the life of the sea horse. The use of multiple colors and details in the corals and other fish can attract children to be drawn to the pages. This story is great for all readers especially children to learn more about sea horses. I learned way more than I ever had from reading this book! In addition, at the back of the book, there is extra information about sea horses and the multiple different types of sea horses.

[Rebbecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Muted greens, blues, oranges, and reds color this non-fiction youth picture book. Author Butterworth was able to fill the pages with plenty of sea horse facts in a relaxing, narrative way. I do wonder if the blue text on green pages may be a struggle for some with color-blindness. Overall, this book does provide information on the basics of a sea horse. Would be a great resource for a class report or presentation.

On a side note, this book was targeted by a group looking to ban materials from schools and libraries. This book does address the mating and birthing cycle of sea horse, but nothing too graphic for children. "...Today Sea Horse's mat is full of ripe eggs. the two of them dance till sunset, and then she puts her eggs into his pouch." is the "spiciest" it gets. The illustrations just so the sea horses with tails twisted together and one panel where the female is next to the male and it shows an internal view of the egg pouch.

[Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Published in 2009 by Candlewick.
Illustrated by John Lawrence

This is a early reader picture book aimed at children aged 4-8. It tells the story of a male sea horse named Sea Horse. It describes his daily routine and introduces his mate. Along the way, they have babies. The entire book is read on this 8 minute long YouTube video.

I normally don't review books aimed at small children but this summer I have been reading a lot of books that have been included on various book ban lists. This one was on a list in Tennessee because of a group called Moms for Liberty. They thought that the sea horses in the book were too sexy. Also, they argued that this book was a sneaky argument in favor of transgenderism...

Read more at:
https://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2022...

The linked post has lots of links about the controversy, including a Tweet from a Moms for Liberty chapter about the book.

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an engaging, educational story about the lifecycle of a seahorse, featuring lovely inkstamp-style illustrations. I appreciated the section in the back that mentioned the threats to seahorses' survival.

Sadly, this book has come to the attention of many after it was bizarrely the target of a banning campaign. It's difficult to imagine a more harmless book. The text briefly and very vaguely mentions the animals' breeding process, without any specific details. If book banners are so offended by animals mating, certainly they can find more explicit examples on the shelves than this.

Hopefully the controversy will have the opposite effect and expose more readers to SEA HORSE. Don't let the foolishness scare you away from reading and sharing it with your family.

[Sydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was up to be banned in Tennessee for a county school's ELA program. I found nothing wrong with it. I don't think it was banned, but still. People are crazy.
Think about kids who grew up on farms or in nature, like me. We knew it took 2 to make babies. Kids are not oblivious to the world, unless parents make everything 'evil'.

[Alex Lindsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting book with very nice illustrations. I'm not sure how they were done but they're unique and gorgeous. This would be a really good book for kids who are interested in seahorses or sea life in general.

[Lauri Meyers · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice introduction to the sea horse with lyrical language and bright stamped/engaged illustrations .

[Jenna Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative

[Marisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great informational nonfiction book. It was very good book to read to students to teach them about sea horses.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful

[Nickelini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charming, informative, interesting!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful illustration style and lots of great information about the seahorse.

[Alexis Speciale · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is another book that children can learn a lot from. I learned a lot about seahorses that I didnt know before. I think the way the illustrations are made in this book, really make the book great!

[QNPoohBear · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had problems with the blue text in the blue ocean. Someone with blue/green color blindness won't be able to read the book.

Other than that this is an excellent resource. The endpapers show different types of seahorses (blue on blue though). The book was written with assistance from the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth, England.

The exact text about the mating ritual is quite nice. I did not know seahorses twist tails together and change color until they match! The two "dance till sunset, then she puts the eggs in his pouch." Pretty simple stuff. It mentions how Barbour's sea horses mate every few weeks during the breeding season. The fact we all know that male seahorses have the pouch and only females can grow eggs. Sea horses are the only male fish to get "pregnant" like this, growing their young inside their own bodies. I guess I knew that but not quite.

The book described how the sea horse gives birth with accompanying illustrations. It concludes with the story coming full circle with little female sea horse being ready to mate within a few months. "She'll spend the rest of her life on the reef, watching for food, meeting her mate and trying to stay invisible."

There's an index and a notation to look up the pages to find out about the sea horse things. "Don't forget to look at both kinds of words - this kind and this kind."

Also contains About Sea Horses.

The illustrations are so pretty and are supposed to resemble the habitat of the sea horse, however, that makes the illustrations difficult to look at because the colors blend together.

[Non · Rating 2 out of 5]

SCORE
2 Star = It was an ok book, but it could be a lot better.

So, I heard about this book caused some commotion in Tennessee. For clarification, Moms for Liberty in Tennessee want to ban the book in public elementary schools in Williamson County, Tennessee. There's obviously more to this debate of parental rights in public/government schools, but that's a rabbit hole I don’t too much about.

SUMMARY
The illustrations are amazing and detailed. It's informative and scientific. It's even kind of poetic. At the end gives a little shpeel on how we need to take better care of our oceans/environment.

PROS & CONS
Outside of art style, information, writing, and message. It’s not really the greatest children's book.

It's like your standard children's book, so nothing really rememberable or inspiring about it. For example, throughout most of the book, there are no examples of how humans can negatively or positively impact sea life.

The one major problem is that the book, according to Amazon, is for 4 to 8-year-olds and the book goes into detail on how seahorses mate (mostly through visual depictions of positions they supposedly mate in but the book calls it "dancing” lol) which is really awkward. This book is probably on the surface level of questionable children's books, but even when I was in high school not that long ago BBC Earth was banned from our school Ipads.

CONCLUSION
Overall, it's not completely terrible and I can still see this as kid's literature, but maybe not for the targeted age demographic.

[DonutKnow]

I loved learning about seahorses! How they mate for life, how they try to survive and the delicacies of their existence 😍

[Lauma · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very appealing picture book about sea horses, particularly the Barbour's Sea Horse, that I would recommend for ages 5 - 8. It explains where sea horse live, how they survive, how they mate, who cares for the young and what they eat. The illustrations depict the ocean background with soft, muted watercolors and use brightly colored block print for the sea creatures and surrounding plant life.

I especially like that the author provided simpler explanations in larger print for younger readers, and used smaller print and captions that gave more scientific details about the particular concept for older readers. The book also provides an index, author's note, and the back and front inside cover illustrates a "blueprint" of other types of sea horses (including their Latin names). Missing, however, are any photographs of real sea horses which would have been helpful.

2009 Monarch Award Nominee