Seahorses

by Twig C. George

Describes the physical characteristics, behavior, and habitats of different species of seahorses, sea dragons, and pipefish, through simple text and photographs.

31 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Twig grew up in a family of naturalists. Her mother, Jean Craighead George, has written over one hundred children's books and pioneered the genre of scientific literature for children. Twig's father, grandfather and uncles were all biologists dedicated to the study of wildlife and ecology. In the midst of this creative, scientific family Twig and her two brothers, Craig and Luke, helped raise over 173 wild animals in their relatively normal suburban house.
Twig received her Bachelor's degree from Bennington College and a Master's in Child Development from Bank Street College of Education. She has taught young children, developed curriculum and worked as Director of Education for the Center for Marine Conservation in Washington, DC. Mother of two daughters, Katie and Rebecca, she now lives in Cockeysville, Maryland with her family and a small but select group of pets. Fortunately, her husband, David Pittenger, is Director of the National Aquarium in Baltimore. The Aquarium is home to over 5,000 animals so Twig and her girls enjoy the company of many more species than they could fit in their own house.

Reviews

[Shiloah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating read!

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative, just learned author is daughter of Jean Craighead George; will definitely seek out this writer's other works.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

The photos in this book are fantastic. Really incredible. And they're labeled!!! Always a big plus but you'd be surprised how many science books don't label the animals. There's even a photo of a male seahorse giving birth. Cool.

The text is very basic and talks to you as if you were a seahorse. It's a little contrived, but my kids didn't care. I did.

The thing that really bugged though was this, "Long ago it evolved from a fin to a monkey-like tail." And "For forty million years this has worked well for seahorses."

Now before you think I'm a creationist looney let me explain. We talk about evolution. My kids have a pretty good understanding of it. But we also believe that the world and all things in it were created by God. I prefer to read books that don't throw evolution out there as fact. As far as I'm concerned it's theory. And I don't know where I stand in relation to the age of the earth. There are so many opinions out there that I'm still working on it. And I think a lot of scientists are too!

When we came across this text we used it as a discussion point. But I prefer to find books without if possible. I'm not sure, for that reason, if we'd use this book again. The photos are fantastic. But the text wasn't and neither were the passages referenced above. I'd consider using it for the pictures only if I were sure the older boys wouldn't pick it up and read it. But they would so I'm still trying to decide if it's a repeat or not.

Man, this review is longer than the book!

[Samantha wickedshizuku Tolleson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful photography! I loved the fact that the author included scientific names of many different seahorses. If I'm able to find anymore of this authors work; I will definately snatch it up pretty quickly.