I have always loved the ocean! I love the way the light sparkles on the water, the rhythm of the waves, and the sound of the surf. But what I love most of all is the mystery of what lies beneath its surface and how this hidden world is home to more than a million marine species, most of them still unknown to us.

Still, my love of the ocean is not why I wrote my debut picture book, The Sea Hides A Seahorse. The idea for this book emerged from a misconception I 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. 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 yet 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 discovered, especially with children. The idea of 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 tails to the unique ability of the male to get pregnant and give birth. 

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 live. Tied together by the ability of seahorses to change color to camouflage themselves from predators and to communicate, I placed the many-colored seahorses in a variety of habitats as they went about their daily routines and life cycles. 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 story’s hide-and-seek elements. 

Once the book was acquired by the publisher, I worked closely with my editor (Michelle McCann) and Melanie Mikesc, the book’s illustrator. For example, the editor suggested I reorder some text to start at daybreak and end at night, since picture books are often read to little ones before bedtime. We also decided to emphasize our hide-and-seek approach by featuring smaller images of the seahorses on one page, with the page-turn revealing a close-up of the hiding seahorse on the next page. The editor recommended I add something about seahorse behavior to the story, so I proposed using different action verbs after the repetitive line. This allowed me to introduce more information about seahorses in a kid-friendly way. Melanie’s beautiful illustrations brought my words to life, and she carefully researched 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.

It is so much fun to share the book at events held at libraries, bookstores, schools, marine science centers and aquariums. Although the book is geared for ages 4 to 8, I’ve seen children as young as one enjoy finding the hidden seahorses during storytime. A friend told me that her 15-month-old granddaughter would flip through the book to find the squid and scream with delight. 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.

I’m glad I discovered seahorses are real. Please let me know if you see a unicorn exhibit at a zoo, fairies in the botanical garden, or mermaids featured at the aquarium. There’s always more to discover about our amazing world!