SEA HORSE: THE SHYEST FISH in the SEA by Chris Butterworth

 















Published in 2009 by Candlewick.
Illustrated by John Lawrence

Sea Horse: The Shyest Fish in the Sea is an early reader picture book aimed at children aged 4-8. It tells the story of a male sea horse named Sea Horse. It describes his daily routine and introduces his mate. Along the way, they have babies. The entire book is read on this 8 minute long YouTube video.
Link to this Tweet on Twitter
Yes, they misspelled Santa Claus.
Perhaps they should read more...😉

I normally don't review books aimed at small children but this summer I have been reading a lot of books that have been included on various book ban lists. This one was on a list in Tennessee because of a group called Moms for Liberty. They thought that the sea horses in the book were too sexy. Also, they argued that this book was a sneaky argument in favor of transgenderism (see attached picture - yes, it's a real Tweet - see the link underneath it to go to the actual Tweet). 

Here are more links to stories about the books they wanted to ban: Link here and here.

How does the subject of transgenderism come into a story about sea horses? Turns out that sea horses have a fairly unique way of breeding. They female deposits her eggs into the male to be fertilized and the male carries them until they hatch and then they leave his body. So, it looks like the male is giving birth. 

As a teacher (30+ years of grades 6-12) and as a dad, I didn't see any problem with this book. My experience tell me that kids love 5 kinds of "fishes" at aquariums, in no particular order:

1) Sharks;
2) Clown Fish (because of Finding Nemo);
3) Tang Fish (because of Finding Nemo);
4) Sea horses;
5) Electric eels.

Sea Horses have a cool factor all their own and kids love to learn things like the fact that they mate for life and the male "gives birth". This is exactly the kind of things that kindergartners learn and tell everyone they meet for the next 3 days.

I encourage you to watch the video I linked above and see if you think that this book is too sexy and encourages children to change genders. I don't think so. Moms for Liberty does. It's not the first time that I disagree with Moms for Liberty. I am certain it won't be the last time, either. 

I rate this book 5 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: SEA HORSE: THE SHYEST FISH in the SEA by Chris Butterworth.

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