Title: Secret Seahorse Tales
Subtitle: The Tale of Stoney Starr Seahorse
Author: Pamala May
Publisher: Brilliant Books Literary
ISBN: 979-8889450832
Pages: 34
Genre: Illustrated Children’s Book / Marine Education
Reviewed by: Beth Adams
Hollywood Book Reviews
In this fanciful story, readers are introduced to Stoney Starr Seahorse, a tiny baby seahorse who lives with her mom and dad and many other sea creatures along a coral reef in the Banda Sea. In fact, Stoney Starr is so small that she rides much of the time in her dad’s pouch, like a kangaroo, being both protected by her dad and also shown the best hiding places and other spots where danger exists.
Secret Seahorse Tales: The Tale of Stoney Starr Seahorse by author Pamala May combines factual information about the behavior of many sea creatures and the geographical location of the ocean information along with an adventure story of a dragon eel being a villain. Stoney’s father has a magical spear given to him by the king to protect the seahorses and other fish from predators, as the spear has the power to stun other creatures to chase them away. When the eel coils up pressing its tale against the rock at the back of the cave, ready to spring out at a very fast speed to capture its prey, Stoney’s dad stuns the eel on its nose, then continues to stun the eel’s tail chasing the predator out of the area.
All of these creatures and events have an excellent narration by the author, coupled with truly artistic illustrations of the variety of fish and the family of seahorses. For example, Stoney Starr has a grouping of yellow stars against her blue skin, as does her parents, which adds an adorable detail to the imagery of her family. The seahorses seem to float with the motion of the water around them, making them seem as what a SCUBA diver may see when examining a coral reef. In fact, that is one of the goals of Pamala May’s creating this book, as she hopes children will be inspired to find the location on a map, and when older actually go diving to see these amazing sea creatures in person.
Combining beautiful illustrations, an adventure story, oceanographic information plus a bit of suspense, Pamala May has created a book which will be marveled by young audiences, learning about this amazing story of Stoney Starr Seahorse as they drift off to bedtime with the gentle swaying motion of the underwater currents surrounding a picturesque coral reef. This is definitely a book to be a part of all family libraires with youngsters – and adventurous adults alike.