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!!

Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. These opinions are completely my own.

A beautiful, yet educational ode to the seahorse, that also acknowledges other camouflaging creatures of the sea. I also enjoyed the the information in the back of the book from the definitions to the Notes about Public Aquariums.

This book was a quick, fun read! I found myself searching for the seahorse on each page before turning the page to see where they were! I think that this would be a fun story time book!

I really enjoyed this one. My sons father loves fishing and I loved to read any book thats about the marine life to him. The illustrations were really cool & vibrant. I would purchase this for my son.

This children's book has cute words as well as beautiful pictures. My children (4yo and 6yo) always enjoy books where there is something to find on each page. This book is a gem which also contains fun facts about seahorses.

I liked the artwork in this book, how it would span both pages sometimes, and how the next page was a closeup of where the seahorse was hiding. I think kids would really like that. I'm not a kid, nor do I have children, by I enjoyed the book. Especially the seahorse facts at the end and ways to help them out.

This is a great read! I loved the beautiful illustrations and it is very engaging and informative, I learned a lot

this was a sweet read! i loved the beautiful illustrations, there was something lacking for me in the cadence of the writing and it was a bit long but i love how beautiful it was and how it was teaching while entertaining

This was really stunning, I read this to my daughter and she really loved the illustrations and now asks about sea horses all the time!

This is a magical book.

Who doesn’t love a seahorse? Still now a favourite of mine into my old age. So a pure delight to share with my own grandchildren.

This is a complete book that introduces the different aspects and activities of the seahorse. They are illustrated in their habitat where camouflage skills are introduced when confronted by their predators.

The text is simple and repetitive which kids will enjoy and love its growing familiarity. The fact that the seahorses are ‘hidden’ makes the children more aware and they pay great attention trying to spot these enchanting creatures in the pages. They can also name the predators out hunting which are introduced in quite poetic language.

At the end of the book there is addition descriptions of the various aspects in the life cycle of the seahorse and details how to learn more and protection these endangered fish.

A real joy and a continued pleasure to read with my loved ones.

This book was such a delight! The illustrations added so much to the experience, and we had a blast spotting all the hidden details tucked within the pages.

My little absolutely loves animals and reading a book that tells you all about an underwater animal, well that was icing on the cake! The graphics are gorgeous and the facts were fun and easy to learn

I love seahorses, so I knew I had to grab this book to read to my kids. The prose was repetitive and sweet, and my kids were saying the next lines as they approached. They loved searching and finding the seahorses throughout the illustrations, and they thought it was cute. The words are definitely not all for young children, however, there is a handy section at the end of the book that has words and short paragraphs to describe how they work in seahorse lives. Overall, I would recommend this book for an elementary classroom library!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.