If you're like me, you absolutely ADORE seahorses. From their quirky shape to their unique parenting to their ability to hide within plain sight, they are one of my favorite creatures. I was so very pleased to read a new book ENTIRELY about seahorses by author Sara T. Behrman and illustrated by Melanie Mikecz: The Sea Hides a Seahorse. It is packed full of beauty, knowledge, and creativity. 

Dive into the enchanting world of seahorses and sea dragons with The Sea Hides a Seahorse, a captivating seek-and-find adventure from The Collective Book Studio.

Perfect for young explorers aged 4-8, this beautifully illustrated book takes readers on an underwater journey to discover the secrets of seahorses as they swim, hide, hunt, court, and mate.

In addition to the engaging story, the book includes a wealth of information about seahorses and practical ways to support their protection and conservation. Young readers will not only enjoy finding where the seahorses are hiding on each page, but they will also learn fascinating facts about marine life and how they can help preserve it.

Designed to enhance literary skills with its lexile-leveled content, The Sea Hides a Seahorse is an ideal addition to back-to-school reading lists and story time roundups, inspiring children to appreciate and protect our ocean's wonders.

Seahorses are among the ocean's most fascinating creatures, yet several species are classified as endangered or vulnerable. To support marine education and seahorse conservation, a portion of the proceeds from the sales of The Sea Hides a Seahorse will be donated to relevant causes.

Author Sara T. Behrman is a children’s book author, technical writer, and former librarian. She loves to travel and, like seahorses, has found her way to all five of the world’s oceans: Arctic; Southern; Indian; Atlantic; and Pacific Ocean. Sara now lives in Portland, Oregon, which is about 80 miles from the Pacific Ocean.

Illustrator Melanie Mikecz specializes in a mixed media style that blends digital and traditional media. Her vibrant color palettes and bold patterns can be found in her illustrations and abstract work. In addition to her picture books, Melanie has worked on projects ranging from greeting cards to puzzles to large-scale murals and wall art. She currently lives in San Francisco, CA, near the beach with her husband and two daughters.

One of the many things I love most about this book is that every time I read it, I notice something new. Reading it has become a nightly calm practice for us - the words, colors, imagery, and kindness are a great way to end a day. 

Highly, highly recommended!

We were lucky enough to catch up with both Sara and Melanie, and ask them about the book, inspiration, seahorses, and more. Here's what they had to say...

Please tell us about your new book, The Sea Hides a Seahorse...
The Sea Hides a Seahorse is my debut children’s book. Featuring different species of seahorses and sea dragons across the world, The Sea Hides a Seahorse (published by The Collective Book Studio on April 9, 2024) is a subtle seek-and-find story that journeys underwater to provide a glimpse into the secrets of seahorses as they swim, hide, hunt, court, mate, and more. Included at the back is more information about seahorses and how to support their protection and conservation. A portion of the proceeds from the sales of The Sea Hides a Seahorse is being donated to support marine education and seahorse conservation. My book received a starred review from School Library Journal, and positive reviews from Kirkus and other professional media.

I worked on different versions of this book for many years before I found my way into the story that became The Sea Hides A Seahorse. The book finally came together when I realized my story could be written as song lyrics, with each verse conveying information about how and where different seahorses lived. Tied together by the ability of seahorses to change color in order to camouflage themselves from predators and to communicate, I placed the many colored seahorses into a variety of habitats as they went about their daily routine and life cycle. The repetitive phrase, “and the sea hides a seahorse,” provided both the title for the book and the signal to turn the page to enjoy the hide-and-seek elements of the story.

What inspired you to write this book?
The idea for this book emerged from a misconception I’d formed as a small child. You see, I had a toy aquarium of sea-monkeys.® This toy aquarium (invented in the 1950s) came with a kit consisting of three envelopes: the first envelope contained a water purifier solution; the second one was filled with the eggs of a mysterious marine animal that would remain in suspended animation until I activated them; and the third envelope contained food. I watched as my sea-monkeys hatched in this ocean zoo and fed these aquatic creatures diligently with the contents of the third envelope. When I excitedly showed my dad what was happening in my amazing ocean zoo, he told me that sea-monkeys were not actually monkeys, but instead tiny brine shrimp. Imagine my disappointment! Oh, so if sea-monkeys aren’t real, I thought, then there weren’t any of the other so-called magical creatures, like unicorns, fairies, mermaids, and seahorses.

My misconception about seahorse wasn’t shattered until I was an adult on a trip to Australia. While visiting the Sydney Aquarium, I saw an amazing exhibit of these magical, but obviously real creatures. I was mesmerized and decided to learn everything about seahorses. And the more I learned, the more I wanted to share what I’d learned with others, especially children. The idea for writing a children’s book about seahorses grew out of this desire to share my research about their habitats, predators, prey, and special features, from the tip of their prehensile tail to the unique ability of the male to get pregnant and give birth.

I absolutely loved the information at the end about seahorses (especially after finding them throughout the book!). How can families and educators utilize this book (and other resources) in reading, marine education, etc.?
When my editor, Michelle McCann, recommended I add more narrative content about seahorse behavior to my story, I introduced different action verbs after the page turn. This allowed me to include more information about seahorses in the back matter in a kid-friendly way. Then, when the manuscript was going through editorial review, I also reached out to two marine biologists, one at Oregon Coast Aquarium and one at Seattle Aquarium. They reviewed the manuscript for accuracy and offered a few pointers. During this process, I learned that starfish are actually called sea stars, and jellyfish are now called jellies.

I have created an educator book guide for this book, which can be downloaded without charge from The Collective Book Studio at https://thecollectivebook.studio/products/the-sea-hides-a-seahorse (just click on Resources). I’ve observed this book being used a variety of ways during my school visits. For example, a Literary Arts instructor & Elementary Movement Specialist with Vancouver Public Schools in Vancouver, WA choreographed the movements of each marine animal in the story for her first grade classes to perform to music – in costume! Teacher librarians have used my book when teaching their elementary school students all about habitats.

Although the book is geared for ages 4 to 8, I’ve seen children as young as one year enjoy finding the hidden seahorses during story time. One of my friends with a 15-months-old granddaughter said her grandchild would flip through the book to find the squid so she could scream. Now, at 18-months, this same child neighs at every picture of the seahorse. During my readings, kids are excited to find the seahorses, and they also enjoy naming the book’s predators.

One of my writing friends, Rochelle Strauss, is an award-winning children’s author whose books focus on building environmental and ocean literacy. Her best-selling titles include The Global Ocean, One Well: The Story of Water on Earth and Tree of Life: The Incredible Biodiversity of Life on Earth. Rochelle’s goal as a children’s author is to change the world, one book at a time. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if, after reading The Sea Hides A Seahorse, children, families and educators were inspired to love and protect seahorses and our ocean, including all of its amazing marine life?

The illustrations are gorgeous! Please share more about your illustrator, and how you worked together....
When we first started working together, my editor asked me about the book’s layout, and if I wanted to hide the seahorse right before the page turn (right side of the book) or after the page turn (left side of the book). I asked if we could do both and essentially hide seahorses on all of the pages. If you look closely, you'll notice that the seahorse is hidden in the first page (right side), followed by a closeup of the seahorse on the page turn (left side). I knew that I wanted the seahorse hidden but didn't know how it would be hidden. Further, even though the illustrator chose to include a couple of sea dragons which are technically not seahorses, I said that it would be okay because they were cousins. I do mention that distinction in the book.

Editors typically act as a go-between for authors and illustrators, Melanie Mikecz in my case, and facilitate communication for comments or questions. I did get to review thumbnail images and early drafts of Melanie's artwork. As the author, I did have the ability if needed to request that certain aspects be modified, such as a seahorse facing a certain direction, or the text to match the illustration. But Melanie did a fantastic job and her color palette is gorgeous. The beautiful illustrations by Melanie brought my words to life, and she also carefully researched the different types of seahorses that lived in each environment, so she could colorfully create an accurate ocean world of aquatic life for our young readers to discover. I hope to meet Melanie at an author-illustrator joint event in the not-too-distant future.

And from the illustrator, Melanie Mikecz...
I wasn’t brought into the project until Sara’s manuscript was mostly finalized. Typically, a book project like this has four stages: thumbnails, sketches, color art, and revisions. This one also required additional research on seahorses and their habitats. Ultimately, I really enjoyed drawing these unique creatures and hiding them among their marine environments. I also learned a lot through my research and Sara’s writing.

Find Melanie online:
Instagram: melaniemikecz
Website: mm-illustration.com

What might readers be surprised to learn about seahorses?
Assuming that I’m the only person in the world who didn’t know seahorses were real until adulthood, I think most readers are surprised to learn that male seahorses get pregnant and give birth! As one young listener put it at storytime, “That’s just inside-out.” Another child at a different storytime actually argued with me when I got to this page in the story, insisting that only mothers can get pregnant and have babies. A factoid that usually gets a big response from the parents at storytime is that seahorses can birth as many as 2,000 fry at once. Kids are amazed when I tell them that seahorses are also predators who eat their food by slurping it up in their snout like we drink with a straw. (It helps to make a snorting sound when showing them how this is done.)

What's up next for you? 
I’m currently working on several very different creative projects. There’s what I call my “Moishe Pupik” collection of stories, which transform well-known tales into a celebration of Yiddish culture and traditional Jewish food. My agent is presently shopping Goldie Lox and the Three Schmears to a list of targeted publishers. When my agent suggested I consider crafting another piece to complement The Sea Hides A Seahorse, I decided to write two: The Sea Hides a Sea Star, and The Sea Hides a Sea Slug. Lastly, I’m hoping to workshop my children’s musical, Zombie Rodent, starring an undead squirrel named Flatty, within the next year or so.

How can people find your work?
People are welcome to follow me on Instagram or Linked In to find out the latest news, or check out my website to learn the location and date of my next book event:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sara.behrman/

Website: https://www.saratbehrman.com/

Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sara-behrman-a0756a294/