Mister Seahorse, Eric Carle

Mister Seahorse, Eric Carle
ISBN: 0399242694Read November 20, 2013

Picture Book: nonfiction-esque meet-and-greet following Mr Seahorse as he encounters other daddy sea creatures while he parents his own offspring.


I really like this book.  Not as much as his classics like The Grouchy Ladybug, but this one is really nice.  Why?  It focuses on FATHERS.  Do you know how hard it is to find a good fatherhood book that isn't maudlin or sappy or trite or tired or actually an "issues" book in disguise (meaning "this book is about fatherhood BUT REALLY it's about divorce and adjusting to a single parent household" or "this book is about fatherhood BUT REALLY it's about the importance of fathers even if they are currently in jail" type books).

This one is just what it purports to be: a seahorse father, and a whole passel of other sea creature fathers, all keeping their children (mostly in egg form) in various odd ways.

One niggle: one of the fishies refers to watching over his own children as "babysitting" which is really a hot button phrase these days, so if that bugs you, either avoid or expect to rephrase.  

For themed use (read: Storytimes) I'm going to pair this one up with Teri Sloat's I'm a Duck! which avoids being trite or maudlin through beautiful expressive use of language, and sweet but not too cutesy rough-edged illustrations that follow the life-cycle of a mallard from hatching to parenthood.