The sea hides a seahorse

PreS-Gr 3--Lacking teeth, sizable fins, and scales, the seahorse is an aquatic anomaly that defies the rule book of ocean-dwelling fish. The unusual locomotion, courtship rituals, and body shape of the seahorse and its even showier relative, the sea dragon, merit further exploration. In order to stay safe, the seahorse has to blend in, so it relies on its unique camouflaging abilities, such as clinging with a prehensile tail and changing colors to avoid being someone's snack. As the seahorses of this story keep a low profile from such perils as tuna, crab, and sea turtles, readers learn about seahorse varieties and life cycles. Clued in by the refrain "And the sea hides a seahorse," children will quickly realize that the illustration's hidden seahorse is the star of the following page. The collage effect of the digital illustrations is a smart choice to convey the translucency and playful light of underwater scenery, and the back matter gives more thorough explorations of seahorse behavior and preservation. VERDICT With its playful seek-and-find illustrations and fascinating facts, this saltwater standout will have librarians, parents, and mini marine biologists hooked. An excellent work of narrative nonfiction for young readers.--Sarah Simpson

How seahorses quietly elude the many marine predators on the prowl. Young readers may be excused for thinking that the hapless seahorse doesn't stand a chance, with every turn of the page revealing yet another menace--from eels, parrotfish, and crabs to squid, turtles, jellyfish, and bluefin tuna--gliding by in search of a snack. As it turns out, though, the distinctively shaped little fish are good at hiding, and along the sandy bottoms and brightly hued reefs of Mikecz's seascapes, they can be spotted lurking unobtrusively…changing colors to match their backgrounds, floating behind tufts of sea grass, and swimming amid schools of smaller fish while intertwining tails to mate and give birth to clouds of small fry. The titular refrain coils sinuously throughout the alliterative narrative ("An octopus undulates silently, / gliding and grasping with eight arms. / And the sea hides a seahorse…"). Behrman concludes with pages of facts about seahorses, as well as information on how to help them and where to go to see and to learn more about them. Because many wild species are endangered or in decline due to habitat destruction, she discourages keeping them as pets but does include leads to sources for farmed specimens. A simple, sonorous introduction. (Informational picture book. 5-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.