The Sea Hides a Seahorse by Sara T. Behrman is a introduction to ocean wildlife featuring a variety of ocean animals, a large vocabulary, alliteration sounds ("sweet birds sang"), hide-and-seek art, and a bright/warm color pallette. Overall this is an exellent book for ages 6-7 to enjoy, or younger with help from a teacher or parents.

I really enjoyed the many details of the seahorse lifestyle depicted, from what they eat, to how they camoflage, to how they mate and raise their young. Interestingly enough, males carry the fertilized eggs, making this a nice science book to explore gender roles in the animal kingdom.

The art of this book is bright, and the style reminds me of the famous The Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. The illustrations follow a pattern: A depiction of a seahorse, and then, a depiction of another ocean animal with a seahorse hiding in the background. I love books like this because you can pause the story and ask a child to point to the seahorse. It makes the reading activity more engaging for the kids.

For people who like: colorful and educational children's books

In five words: seahorses - colorful - pictures - hidden - nonfiction

Positive points: This nonfiction book is the perfect introduction for children to sea life in general and seahorses in particular. Younger children will marvel at the beautiful and colorful mixed-media illustrations while they're in search for the seahorses on each page in the nicely created seek-and-find game. And for those who want to know more about these wonderful creatures, there's also some very interesting textual info included on the last pages. That's why this book will enchant young and old.

Negative points: Although it is mentioned in the book that seahorses are closely related to pipefishes, pipehorses and seadragons, it would've been interesting if these species were compared to each other. That way children (and adults alike) would learn more about all these lesser known animals.

More info: www.seahorse.com /// www.projectseahorse.org /// www.theseahorsetrust.org /// www.iucn-seahorse.org /// www.aza.org /// www.waza.org

Rating: 4,5* rounded down because it would've been interesting to include even more info about seahorses

Publication date: 09.04.2024

*Thanks to NetGalley and The Collective Book Studio for providing a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Cute story for younger readers (or listeners) which encouraged them to stay interested by including a 'find the seahorse' on every second page.
Illustrations were very bright and colourful too.
Lots of interesting facts about seahorse at the end for older readers.

What a cute book! I love the colorful illustrations and I can easily see how any child would love this, especially those who have a soft spot for seahorses and aquamarine life! There was also a lot of great information about each sea animal, which I thought was a fun touch! Very easy to read and also super whimsical with all the beautiful details!

#TheSeaHidesaSeahorse #NetGalley

A book doing several things at the same time, and doing them all pretty well. It's about the seahorse, and every right-hand page asks us to spot them, hidden somewhere in the underwater image. This also sets up the poetic fact, and when we turn the page we get the rest of that specific verse and the result, if you like, of our hunt. There's a scientific section to close that wraps up all the more romantically-conveyed information of the text. So it very gently introduces us to what they are, how they operate and why they're so appealing, with a little interactivity, and a smart way to disguise the biology lesson of it all. It's also as colourful as the seahorse kingdom, and makes for a pretty appealing achievement.

My children were captivated with this book from the front cover. It offers vibrant illustrations, great vocabulary development, lyrical prose, with a fun seek-and-find element. We are introduced to many underwater creatures as we venture through the sea, from mangrove roots to seagrass meadows. I appreciate the extra information about seahorses at the end of the book, including how they eat, swim, hunt, court and more.

This book would be wonderful for any nature loving preschooler to early elementary children, at home or in a classroom context.

With thanks to the publisher for the digital review copy, via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and all opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to review The Sea Hides a Seahorse. First off I love that this is a book about seahorses, they are such cool creatures! The illustrations reminded me of Eric Carle and brought all the nostalgia.

This is a seek and find book for young children that weaves facts and information about seahorses throughout the book. I found this to be a cute book that I would buy for toddlers in my life.

My family is currently going through sea world obsession. We are into any and all form of sea life. This little book is so well illustrated, colors are beautiful and sea horses are plentiful. We enjoyed the story and enjoyed finding these little guys on every page. We very much appreciated the more about seahorses section in the back!

I think the concept of this book was interesting, but it was pretty boring. My 3 year old nephew wanted to read it together but he quit half way through, it couldn’t hold him.

The story is 20 pages and for young children. The illustrations are colorful. It’s a seek and find story and introduces verbs about the actions seahorses do. At the end of the story is educational information about seahorses using the verbs used in the story, how to support their protection and conservation. The story also introduces creatures of the sea and is descriptive of them.
The book is colorful with the illustrations. The seek and find is simple for little children. I liked the way the author introduced the verbs and in the end explained those verbs in regards to seahorses.
Thank you #netgalley and #collectivebookstudio

This is such a pretty book! I loved the huge variety of colors in the pictures and the many types of seahorses! This book is incredibly informative- perhaps too much so if you are worried about your child asking you what mating is :)

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC
4.5 out of 5
Recommend for seek and find storytime, nature lovers.
I wanted to read this books as soon as I saw it - seahorses aren't usually a featured 'animal' and I really enjoyed learning about the different species and the researchers who are trying to help them.
The illustration style - a panoramic oceanview followed by a closeup of a particular seahorse environment was very clever - it shows the reader how tiny these guys are, and the things they do to survive. (It was a bit weird on a tablet, but the upside was that I could zoom in on the gorgeous details.)
The illustrations are beautiful - they're stylized but very realistic, and the colours and details should delight all readers.
I loved that the whole seahorse lifecycle was shown, and that like penguins, we see that seahorses are one of very few species where the father is super important in the survival of the babies.
This should work for a confident beginning reader, or an interactive storytime.

I’d like to express my gratitude to Sara T Behrman, Melanie Mikecz, The Collective Book Studio, and Netgalley for the Digital Review copy of the book. My thoughts now follow.

I was mainly drawn to the book because of the cover. I haven’t seen many books about seahorses and yet my own children found them quite fascinating. Therefore, interest piqued, I took a dive into the pages and began to explore.

Within the first few pages, I had decided that it wasn’t a book for me, however, I persevered. This only solidified my feelings towards toward the book. As I read, I was struck by the feeling that this is a book of two halves. On the left-hand pages, we could see seahorses and discover rituals they partake in, whilst the right-hand pages spoke of other sea animals and not necessarily partaking in activities that mirrored or complimented what the seahorses were doing.

The book claims to be a subtle seek-and-find picture book, although there was nothing subtle about the pictures, which admittedly were simple but lovely. Mikecz did a good job creating images that fit the text.

The author tries to add an element of suspense by using the repeated phrase, ‘And the sea hides a seahorse…’ where the ritual is revealed on the next page. This could have been bolder, or included flaps, or something more dramatic. It just felt a bit flat.

What I did enjoy about this book was the additional facts added at the end. For keen lovers of the ocean, particularly seahorses, this book is something they can grow into. As a toddler, children can happily enjoy the illustrations and text about what the marine life are up to. As they get older, they can make use of the information on the bac pages that explain a bit more about the activities the seahorses were noted to be doing in the earlier pages.

Taking everything into account, the imagery and the detailed facts at the back were what brought the book to life and made it all come together. Consequently, I rate this book 3 stars out of 5.

Gorgeous illustrations and a beautiful story!

I loved how the keyword used to start each page coordinates to the additional information in the back!

*Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!*

I thought this was a very fun and engaging children's book. The repetition is well done and the art style is so colorful and captivating. I also loved the conservation information at the back of the book. I know that when I was a kid, I loved learning facts about animals. Presenting that information without being so heavy handed was well done. I don't really have any reason to buy this book myself but I can see myself getting it as a gift.

I find seahorses to be such magical creatures and this was the perfect book to teach us all the amazing things about them.

First theres a story, sharing different colours of seahorses and how they camouflage themselves into the surroundings, along with sharing other sea life who they share their homes with and then in the back is where all the amazing facts are and I was amazed to find out that they don’t have stomachs.

This would be a great addition to your library, especially if you have a young Sea Life lover on your hands.

This book is beautiful and I loved the repetition of "the sea hides a seahorse". The repetition and artistry will draw children in. The hide and seek with the seahorses, especially with all their different shapes and colors will keep them entertained. There is great information at the back with facts about seahorses.

You can try to find the seahorse on each beautifully illustrated page, but what makes this even more fun is that it explains how seahorses hide themselves. I learned a lot in this short book, including how important it is to protect these gorgeous creatures. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

The illustrations are colorful and lovely. In my experience with children, they prefer photographs when it comes to animal books. Still the full color page spreads will engage readers.

The unique seahorse is fascinating. This book features simple information about the lively seahorse.

This can be used as a Where’s Waldo type book, challenging readers to look for sea life while learning how seahorses swim, hide, hunt, court, mate, and more. Included at the back is more information about seahorses and how to support their protection and conservation.

Some animals I was unable to find, the eel and the manta.

On the page featuring a seahorse with a pouch full of eggs the text reads, “a petrel patters across the water scouting the surface for a tasty bite.” On the next page is a picture of the petrel, with text reading, “his giant pouch filled with eggs.” I found it confusing making readers think the seahorse was a petrel.

I was reading on a tablet so maybe that would explain my picture perception issues.

I recommend this work of nonfiction for preschool -2nd grade.

Gorgeous picture book with vibrant colours and pretty language! Kids will love finding the camouflaged seahorses on each page, and will enjoy learning more about seahorses! They are such unique creatures and this book teaches a new generation about seahorse conservation in a beautiful and simple way. Lovely!!