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The Sign of the Seahorse
Romance, mystery and intrigue revolve around the Seahorse Cafe, where the beautiful Pearl Trout falls in love with Corporal Bert the Soldiercrab. But Reeftown is in danger, and soon Pearl, Bert, and Pearl
44 pages, Hardcover
First published September 15, 1992
15 people are currently reading
902 people want to read
About the author
Graeme Base
58 books368 followersGraeme Rowland Base is a British-Australian author and artist of picture books. He is perhaps best known for his second book, Animalia published in 1986, and third book The Eleventh Hour which was released in 1989.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 204 reviews
August 20, 2017
What a beautiful rhyming book. The art is amazing. The story is sweet and also pretty pertinent to today's pollution. I like ol' Bert and Pearl for sure. The rhyme sticks in your head. That evil grouper sure gets what he deserves and in the end all fishes are happy and alive. This fine book was at a friends house and I got to read it. Pick it up. It's long for a picture book and I really enjoyed it.
May 20, 2012
Graeme Base is without a doubt one of my favorite author/illustrators. His book Animalia is one of my favorite picture books of all time. I love that he (like John Lithgow and his illustrating partner C.F Payne in particular) treats his audience of young readers with respect in both his lavish illustrations and words.
The Sign of the Seahorse appeals to me initially because it is set within the structure of a play. I was about 10 seconds into reading when I fell in love with the lnaguage and visual feast that IS the story! It is both a love story between Pearl the Trout and Bert the Soldiercrab and the rise and fall of uber-villain Gropmund Groper. The Groper has been thwarted in a real estate deal when an oil spill kills the coral reef he has purchased. He invents a scam whereby he spreads the poison which destroyed his reef to another in order to sell his lots to the fleeing denizens of Reeftown (using some “creative” language to advertise his for-sale lots, of course).
The Soldiercrabs are dispatched to discover the cause of the poison that is destroying their reef–unaware that it has all been engineered by The Groper. Corporal Bert, smitten as he is with Pearl the Trout, sends her a love message through his friend Finneus Catfish. Finneus is a member of the Catfish Gang, a group of youngsters who consider themselves “tough” and may occasionally stay out too late, but are basically good-hearted beneath their mischief.
An obstacle to Groper’s scam is Pearl Trout and her father, who owns the Seahorse Cafe–a cool, local hangout with good food and live music. The Groper believes if he can close the Seahorse Cafe those sea creatures who have not already left Reeftown will do so. After Groper cheats her father out of the Cafe, Pearl prepares to travel through The Deep, fleeing Reeftown, just as The Groper has planned. She asks Finneus to deliver a love message to Corporal Bert, telling him she will leave her mark of the seahorse along her journey so that he will be able to find her when he returns.
Finneus unwittingly discovers The Groper’s machinations and the Catfish gang nearly defeats Groper and his hoodlums. It is not, however, until the Soldiercrabs also stumble upon the truth and Finneus makes a noble sacrifice that The Groper is brought to justice.
The entire tale is told eloquently in rhyme and is unbelieveably delightful to both read and hear read aloud! The book, itself, becomes a stage upon which the illustrations move and speak and emote. This is a fantastic read-aloud or independent read for almost any age!
The Sign of the Seahorse appeals to me initially because it is set within the structure of a play. I was about 10 seconds into reading when I fell in love with the lnaguage and visual feast that IS the story! It is both a love story between Pearl the Trout and Bert the Soldiercrab and the rise and fall of uber-villain Gropmund Groper. The Groper has been thwarted in a real estate deal when an oil spill kills the coral reef he has purchased. He invents a scam whereby he spreads the poison which destroyed his reef to another in order to sell his lots to the fleeing denizens of Reeftown (using some “creative” language to advertise his for-sale lots, of course).
The Soldiercrabs are dispatched to discover the cause of the poison that is destroying their reef–unaware that it has all been engineered by The Groper. Corporal Bert, smitten as he is with Pearl the Trout, sends her a love message through his friend Finneus Catfish. Finneus is a member of the Catfish Gang, a group of youngsters who consider themselves “tough” and may occasionally stay out too late, but are basically good-hearted beneath their mischief.
An obstacle to Groper’s scam is Pearl Trout and her father, who owns the Seahorse Cafe–a cool, local hangout with good food and live music. The Groper believes if he can close the Seahorse Cafe those sea creatures who have not already left Reeftown will do so. After Groper cheats her father out of the Cafe, Pearl prepares to travel through The Deep, fleeing Reeftown, just as The Groper has planned. She asks Finneus to deliver a love message to Corporal Bert, telling him she will leave her mark of the seahorse along her journey so that he will be able to find her when he returns.
Finneus unwittingly discovers The Groper’s machinations and the Catfish gang nearly defeats Groper and his hoodlums. It is not, however, until the Soldiercrabs also stumble upon the truth and Finneus makes a noble sacrifice that The Groper is brought to justice.
The entire tale is told eloquently in rhyme and is unbelieveably delightful to both read and hear read aloud! The book, itself, becomes a stage upon which the illustrations move and speak and emote. This is a fantastic read-aloud or independent read for almost any age!
May 22, 2025
This is an entertaining, but long, saga that pits good fish against evil fish in a tale of corruption and tragedy that ends with a new beginning for all. The story is told in verse, with rhyming stanzas, and it's fun to read aloud.
I expected the story to be fairly lengthy - when we read The Worst Band in the Universe, I was surprised at how dense the poetry was and how long it took us to read it. We read that book almost three years ago, when our girls were younger and much more squirmy, so it took us several days to read the entire story.
This time, however, we were able to read it all at once, which made for better continuity of the tale. I expected our girls to ask me to stop somewhere in the middle of the story, but they were engrossed.
The narrative is entertaining and filled with fairly complex vocabulary. Our girls weren't fazed by the poetic language, though, and they were able to discern the meanings of most of the unfamiliar words just by the context. I think young children, however, would be put off by the length and complexity of the verse.
And the illustrations? Well, we expect great things in the pictures of Graeme Base's books, and we were not disappointed. The gorgeous details and the hidden surprises are as good as we've come to expect, and he does a good job of shading the sadder, more tragic parts in darker colors, and bathing the happier scenes in light.
Overall, it was a very good story with an important ecological message and we really enjoyed reading it together.
I expected the story to be fairly lengthy - when we read The Worst Band in the Universe, I was surprised at how dense the poetry was and how long it took us to read it. We read that book almost three years ago, when our girls were younger and much more squirmy, so it took us several days to read the entire story.
This time, however, we were able to read it all at once, which made for better continuity of the tale. I expected our girls to ask me to stop somewhere in the middle of the story, but they were engrossed.
The narrative is entertaining and filled with fairly complex vocabulary. Our girls weren't fazed by the poetic language, though, and they were able to discern the meanings of most of the unfamiliar words just by the context. I think young children, however, would be put off by the length and complexity of the verse.
And the illustrations? Well, we expect great things in the pictures of Graeme Base's books, and we were not disappointed. The gorgeous details and the hidden surprises are as good as we've come to expect, and he does a good job of shading the sadder, more tragic parts in darker colors, and bathing the happier scenes in light.
Overall, it was a very good story with an important ecological message and we really enjoyed reading it together.
January 14, 2012
According to my mom, this was my favorite book growing up. I think it must have been the pictures because it's quite long for a children's book. That being said, I read it to Jackson over two nights for his goodnight book and personally thought it great! Would I recommend it for a regular. Children's book? No. But it is a great book for a little older audience. Has that epic plot with a fun twist in characters based from the sea. Something that generally bothers me about children's books is that many times lines are looked over that are supposed to rhyme and don't quite work perfectly. With this book I didn't feel that conflict; it was a smooth read :)
April 5, 2021
I've probably read (or had my mom read) this book 100 times. Recently reread as an adult and was totally charmed all over again. Although some of the language is very fancy, and I wonder how 10-year-old me understood what was happening. Maybe I didn't fully follow the story, and was just enchanted by the illustrations
September 22, 2015
I absolutely loved this book. I picked it up at a yard sale for my just turned 6 year old. I didn't really look at the book, what attracted me was the pictures.
I opened it up that night to read it and fell in love. The pictures are gorgeous. The story itself is fun and fun to read aloud. I love that the words aren't dumbed down or simplified for kids. I love exposing him to words he doesn't hear on a daily basis. What really sold me though was the fact it was laid out like a play.
My son loved it too. We read it over the course of 2 nights and he asked for me to start it over again the next night. I'm shocked I haven't heard of these stories before, but I plan to add them all to our library!
I opened it up that night to read it and fell in love. The pictures are gorgeous. The story itself is fun and fun to read aloud. I love that the words aren't dumbed down or simplified for kids. I love exposing him to words he doesn't hear on a daily basis. What really sold me though was the fact it was laid out like a play.
My son loved it too. We read it over the course of 2 nights and he asked for me to start it over again the next night. I'm shocked I haven't heard of these stories before, but I plan to add them all to our library!
February 16, 2016
This was a fun book to read on a snow day. The search to find the culprit behind the mysterious poisoning of the Seahorses, starts at the famous Seahorse Café and takes readers from the doomed coral gardens of Reeftown to a sunken wreck and an underwater junkyard, across the Deep all the way to the edge of the Great Continental Shelf. The rhyming text and the beautiful illustrations really help immerse you in this awesome underwater world.
October 11, 2012
Graeme Base never fails to impress with his sheer breath of talent. Now, in addition to his epic illustrations, we have an epic tale to go with them. Love, loss, oil, and sea coral. What more could you want from a children's book? ;-) The poetry is funny even to adults, and the underwater society Base brings to life could not be more entertaining. Seriously one of his best works ever.
July 24, 2014
For young and old who love a delightful rhyming undersea adventure with a side-plate of an environmental moral and gussy-upped with colorful illustrations. Another Graeme Base book that will be added to my children's bookshelf.
March 26, 2012
Beautiful pictures and fun poetry conceal an alarming plot. I think I found the two "mostly unnoticed shrimp".
September 3, 2017
ugh I'm glad this book is finished. My daughter picked this book out from the library and enjoyed it. That's why it got the 2nd star. I personally just wanted it to end. sorry...
October 25, 2018
This was just not my style. It has nice, rich illustrations and long lyrical poems. But I just couldn't. At least not right now.
August 6, 2020
Art? 6/5
Story? Beautiful.
Childhood? Replenished.
Story? Beautiful.
Childhood? Replenished.
May 16, 2019
"The Sign of the seahorse" is a poem/plot written story about underwater town of Reef-town, where its fishy inhabitants live peacefully with each other. However one of them, Gropmund Grouper, is intent on fulfilling his own greedy needs at the expense of everyone else - even if this requires polluting the entire area. This pollution has far reaching effects and forces Corporal Bert of the Soldier-crabs to leave behind his sweetheart Pearl Trout while he tries to find the source of the pollution - unaware that his departure will also cause Pearl to do her own investigating; causing her to find a new UN-polluted reef leaving seahorses signs so here beloved Bert can find her. Bert finds the cause of the pollution and the true plan of the grouper;finds him and his henchmen and captures them. In the end the the fish inhabitants find a new reef;while the grouper and his gang is stuck doing work for the new racehorse cafe as they learn the importance of not to be greedy. This story shows to be positive and also can help younger readers with new vocabulary in a fun way; but in my opinion i think the story could have been more juicy and the plot should be had more spice to it but this story was meant for a younger readers but in all this a good book.
May 16, 2019
This book is pretty good because it teaches you a lesson and it written in a form of a poem.
The lesson in this story is never act like you own everything or want to be the only one because at the end you never get what you want. Its not good because you always don't get what you want you could get other people or a special person hurt and we don't want that. At the beginning of the story it said : Then came a day the sea went dark, the reef began to change,the coral gardens lost their glow, the seaweed tasted strange. Which means that something bad happen which mad the seahorses vanished overnight. Then between the middle of the story it said: That night,as pearl began to climb the mountains of the deep, her truelove,Bert,was woken from a restless,troubled sleep. Which was that everyone was filled with oil and everyone was scared because their living place is full of oil and they don't have a place to go. Finally at last the bad guys that everyone was cared up ended cleaning and working for seahorse cafe.
The lesson in this story is never act like you own everything or want to be the only one because at the end you never get what you want. Its not good because you always don't get what you want you could get other people or a special person hurt and we don't want that. At the beginning of the story it said : Then came a day the sea went dark, the reef began to change,the coral gardens lost their glow, the seaweed tasted strange. Which means that something bad happen which mad the seahorses vanished overnight. Then between the middle of the story it said: That night,as pearl began to climb the mountains of the deep, her truelove,Bert,was woken from a restless,troubled sleep. Which was that everyone was filled with oil and everyone was scared because their living place is full of oil and they don't have a place to go. Finally at last the bad guys that everyone was cared up ended cleaning and working for seahorse cafe.
May 16, 2019
The book was extremely interesting & even though the logic wasn't realistic, but in a way, it was quite entertaining. The theme of the story was that greed will ruin your life, because as the grouper destroyed the reef & eventually the soldier crabs took over the situation & captured him. The plot was basically a mafia group (leader being the grouper) took over the Seahorse Cafe, a club full of life, which forced the lively-hood of the owner (the trout) and his daughter pearl had to find shelter elsewhere. They go on a long journey as they search for a new home, as that's happening, the catfish gang and the soldier crabs are trying to search for the cause of the reef's dying issue. On their way they meet an eel, who later voluntarily gave directions to the right path. Later they find the source of the issue and are on their way to get grouper, meanwhile they made it to where the seahorses disappeared to. They capture grouper and they all live happily ever after. My age group choice would be 7th grade.
July 22, 2023
Just so you know: When you open this picture book, you're opening a world.
If you're familiar with the story-building artistry of Graeme Base, you're used to that kind of thing. Only this world may contain a bigger world than his other (magnificent) picture books that I've seen.
1. This one starts with a map.
2. Next comes a short, poetic invocation.
3. A list of characters (The Cast) will orient you to this "Tale of Greed and High Adventure."
4. Then follow Prelude, Act 1, Scene 1... and so forth.
Goodreaders, here's a sample of the elegant language:
'My dear,' he said in dulcet tones, 'I really must protest.
You very nearly ruined my expensive satin vest!
And this one is my favourite, so elegant yet plain --
I think I'll have to eat you so it won't occur again.'
Amazing illustrations are part of this book, of course. If you've seen other picture books by Graeme Base, you know they're just as immersive as the words he uses.
FIVE STARS. What a wow! this book is.
If you're familiar with the story-building artistry of Graeme Base, you're used to that kind of thing. Only this world may contain a bigger world than his other (magnificent) picture books that I've seen.
1. This one starts with a map.
2. Next comes a short, poetic invocation.
3. A list of characters (The Cast) will orient you to this "Tale of Greed and High Adventure."
4. Then follow Prelude, Act 1, Scene 1... and so forth.
Goodreaders, here's a sample of the elegant language:
'My dear,' he said in dulcet tones, 'I really must protest.
You very nearly ruined my expensive satin vest!
And this one is my favourite, so elegant yet plain --
I think I'll have to eat you so it won't occur again.'
Amazing illustrations are part of this book, of course. If you've seen other picture books by Graeme Base, you know they're just as immersive as the words he uses.
FIVE STARS. What a wow! this book is.
May 16, 2019
Anh Do
In my judgement, "The sign of the seahorse" was an amazing book, because it contains many poetry that include in the story, the picture is beautiful, and there are severe picture is extremely weird. In addition, the theme of the story is don't be greedy in life, because greedy will only brings ruining.
The plot summary of the story is that all the seahorse in the oceans is suddenly disappearing leading to the dangerous mission to all the fierce soldiers to find out why; however, Pearl and Bert had fall in love with each other and they don't want to leave each other, but they can't change the situation so they have to follow with the circumstance. Additionally, there are many disastrous predicament had happens after Pearl and Bert has separate; nevertheless, approximately in every story there always a delightful ending, and the dishonorable character will consistently being punish.
In my judgement, "The sign of the seahorse" was an amazing book, because it contains many poetry that include in the story, the picture is beautiful, and there are severe picture is extremely weird. In addition, the theme of the story is don't be greedy in life, because greedy will only brings ruining.
The plot summary of the story is that all the seahorse in the oceans is suddenly disappearing leading to the dangerous mission to all the fierce soldiers to find out why; however, Pearl and Bert had fall in love with each other and they don't want to leave each other, but they can't change the situation so they have to follow with the circumstance. Additionally, there are many disastrous predicament had happens after Pearl and Bert has separate; nevertheless, approximately in every story there always a delightful ending, and the dishonorable character will consistently being punish.
May 16, 2019
The theme of the story is that karma will always come back to you. I think karma will always come back to you is the theme because the grouper was took everything from the trouts and now he has nothing at the end. The plot of the story is the trouts had a cafe then a gang came and took it over from the trouts. The cafe was the only thing they had good in their reef. So they had to find another one to find a home. Will on the trip they found out that there was a oil spill in the reef they were going to. So they closed and saved they reef. Then they found a way better and good reef. The trouts went back to save there friend and apprehend the grouper. Now everything was good in the new reef. he text structure is a poem mixed with a play. The age recommendation is 13 and if you like non fiction pick this book.
May 16, 2019
Personally I think it deserved 2 stars, I felt bored threw-out the story. I felt like it was easy to understand for my age group if listening closely, but it was just boring to read about. Even though it seems like a child picture book, I wouldn't recommend unless you choose to explain a wide vocabulary. The theme in this story brought out how much pollution can do, financial and environmental. The text structure brought out in this story is a play, which I honestly find boring. At the beginning of the story the groupers (antagonist) came into try and steal the famous coffee, and it came up to a lot of complications; at the end it all fell back in place with even the groupers working with them. This story brought out a variety of themes, and conflicts; but I still found it boring.
May 16, 2019
it was a little bit of cringe but it was OK the book talks about 2 lovers who were separated because the groper wanted to take over their shop and make all of the money they worked hard on and he took everything away. so what happened was in the beginning there way a bucket that fell into the ocean and polluted the water and it made all the sea horses go away to find a new home so the crab daughter set out to find the sea horses and left sea horses trails so someone could find her where she will be going.
The sea horses disappeared because of pollution the grouper comes in and takes over everything.
the greed brought only ruin and the tide and turned for good. This book should be read by 12 year old because i think some of the words are difficult to pronounce but once you know the definition it real easy to remember.
The sea horses disappeared because of pollution the grouper comes in and takes over everything.
the greed brought only ruin and the tide and turned for good. This book should be read by 12 year old because i think some of the words are difficult to pronounce but once you know the definition it real easy to remember.
May 16, 2019
This book was AMAZING I really enjoyed this book. One theme that is discussed in the book is to not be greedy because at the end everything will come back to you. One very important theme is pollution , in the book the sea animals had to move because of pollution. In the Beginning of the story the seahorses left because the pollution was coming their way so they left. In the middle of the story Pearl leaves to find a better place and she leaves a trail so the others can find her. In the end of the story they found a better place and the sharks had to do every chores because they were greedy. The text structure is like a play it has acts and its also like a poem structure. I think this book is suitable for 6th graders.
May 16, 2019
The Sign of the Seahorse is a good book. It has a good lesson and all the characters had good roles. Themes of this book is don't be greedy because it would lead to lead ruin. The plot is about when pollution strikes the deep sea a fish comes up with an evil plan to make it harder for the other fish. The other fish out smart him and by following signs that lead them to their new home. The text structure is like a poem. I think this book should be more recommended for preteens (10-12 year old).
I like this book because it has a hard cover and has a good plot. What I didn't like about this book is that it had vocabulary words that you don't really hear is every day life and it rhymes its words too much.
I like this book because it has a hard cover and has a good plot. What I didn't like about this book is that it had vocabulary words that you don't really hear is every day life and it rhymes its words too much.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 16, 2019
The sign of the seahorse is a book that i would recommend to a 10 year old kid, even tho the book has a lot of nice pics like infant infant books it has a deep content and text structure makes it hard for people to understand everything because it is like a poem and it also has some difficult words. The main theme of the books is that if you steal you'll end up cleaning and cooking on a restaurant and another theme is that people is destroying the environment and it is affecting the animals even the ones that live undersea. And pollution is killing sea creatures. Some reasons why i think this book is not for little kids is because there are gangsters fish gangsters smoking and they would not understand the themes.
May 16, 2019
The story is about a fish named Grouper who is jealous that his cafe is not as popular or doing as well as the seahorse cafe. So he buys a reef but out of nowhere poison comes from above and makes the fish move. Later on he buys the Seahorse cafe. The Crab soldiers later on go find the source of the pollution and stops it and take down Grouper and his gang. Finally the fish built a knew cafe where Groupers gang worked. One of the themes that is introduced in the story would be, Greed brought only ruin. This signifies that if you are only lead by greed, then the path will only bring you disaster. I think that the text structure is written in poem form because some words rhyme with other words in the stanza's. I think the age recommendation would be around ages 10-13.
May 16, 2019
This book to me was really fun to read because for one it had pictures in it which would be fun for younger children to read but I also did not like how that it did not have any page numbers which means you would never know what page you have stopped on. The theme that I have developed was that even though you might think doing or saying bad things to someone just know that it would come back to you. The type of text structure in this book is a poem and it was a play because they had scenes and stanzas. This book was about how a crew of people come in and take over this cafe and that the sea starts to get polluted and then they all start to look for a new place to live and they all find this new place because of Perls little marks.
May 16, 2019
My thought about this story is that it's boring, and similar to sponge bob. The theme is the greed will ruin you. The book's story is composed of two acts and is set in the underwater town of Reef town, where its fishy inhabitants live peacefully with each other. However one of them, Ground Grouper, is intent on fulfilling his own greedy needs at the expense of everyone else - even if this requires polluting the entire area. This pollution has far reaching effects and forces Corporal Bert of the Soldier crabs to leave behind his sweetheart Pearl Trout while he tries to find the source of the pollution - unaware that his departure will also cause Pearl to do her own investigating. The text structure is poem and play. It recommendation for 7th grades
May 17, 2019
'' The sign of the seahorse'' was boring but however it was interesting how the author wrote the poem/story. The theme of the story was romance and mystery. Also the story was written as a poem. The plot was that the seahorse left the reef because of the pollution, the Gompers wanted to take over the fishes. Overall I think that sponge bob had copied ''The signs of the seahorse'' because in this story has a charter named peril and in sponge bob as well. Also in this story had a competitor for the restaurateur also in sponge bob. Overall i thought the signs of the seahorse was good. I recommend this story to high school because if anything younger than a high school they would not understand the story/ poem
January 23, 2023
I actually own this book, but probably haven't read it since I was a kid! (Yet another big book, to pass the hours spent riding in the backseat on the way to Christmastime in Florida). Graeme Base is an extremely talented author and illustrator: his story was interesting and elaborate, and the pictures were detailed and gorgeous!
Now, it was written in rhyme (didn't realize I hated yet, I guess). And the romance between a crab and a sexy fish was admittedly kinda weird. I love ocean and sealife stuff, so I always wanted to love this one much more than I actually do... preferably as much as I loved his other book, The Eleventh Hour.
Now, it was written in rhyme (didn't realize I hated yet, I guess). And the romance between a crab and a sexy fish was admittedly kinda weird. I love ocean and sealife stuff, so I always wanted to love this one much more than I actually do... preferably as much as I loved his other book, The Eleventh Hour.
February 6, 2024
This book is about the Seahorse Cafe in which every fish goes to socialize. One day a fish comes and takes it away and the whole underwater world is in battle. There is also poison that is going around which is trying to be taken care of as well. I thought that this book was very long but I always loved the illustrations in his books. I also loved that this book talked about the cast at the beginning and it went through different acts throughout the book. It is basically in the structure of a play which I think is great because it gets kids thinking about other kinds of literature. This book would make a great read aloud but I think I would read it one act at a time.
Author: Graeme Base
Illustrator: Graeme Base
Publisher: Puffin Books June 1, 1998
Author: Graeme Base
Illustrator: Graeme Base
Publisher: Puffin Books June 1, 1998
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