Read Grow Inspire The Slogan for Book Week 2023 (Part 2)

If you watch this video on Youtube you will see and hear Matt Ottley talking about his inspiration for the Book Week Slogan. He talks about why he chose to feature a seahorse on his poster. He states that it represents growth, strength, beauty and spirituality. You can read about the symbolism of seahorses here. Hopefully it inspires you to explore seahorses more. If you want to learn more about seahorses quickly, then watch this slide share.

Torres Strait Islanders revere seahorses and seahorses feature in Indigenous Art. These works of art could be used as a provocation or thinking routine,  as a comparison to the poster or a photograph of seahorses...

• https://www.baduartcentre.com.au/artists/weldon-matasia/seahorse-meaning-symbolism

•https://www.cairnsartgallery.com.au/collections/seahorse

• https://umi-arts.myshopify.com/products/postcard-seahorses

• https://www.aboriginalartstore.com.au/artists/alan-ah-kit/seahorse/

Now at my school, it is time to get all the seahorse books off the shelves and make a display, so that students can read all about seahorses and be inspired to act in their defence as there is an endangered  seahorse right on their doorstep in Sydney Harbour. See this article and filmclip. My students will recognise the locations!

Now for some books. This is what the library has... some factual, some stories on both seahorses and sea dragons. What is the difference? Have the students find out by reading. It is a shame so many are out of print, but I am pleased we bought so many before American books became too expensive for Australian school libraries.

• The Sea Hides a Seahorse by Sara T. Behrman and Melanie Mikecz

• Seahorse: the Shyest Fish in the Sea  by Chris Butterworth and John Lawrence

• Seahorses by Jennifer Keats Curtis and Chad Wallace

• Seahorses by Valerie Bodden

• Fry to Seahorse by Camilla De la Bedoyere

• Seahorses and Seadragons by Debbie and Brendan Gallagher

• Sea Horses and Pipefish  by Stanley Swartz

• Seahorse by Greg Myers

• The Way of the Weedy Seadragon  by Anne Morgan and Lois Bury

• Seahorse's Wild Ride by Steve Parish

• Leo the Littlest Seahorse by Margaret Wild and Terry Denton

• Seadragon Sea  by Margaret Spurling

• I am a Sea Horse: The True Story of a Dwarf Sea Horse by Trisha Speed Shaskan and Todd Ouren   

• Mister Seahorse by Eric Carle

• One Lonely Sea Horse by Paxton Freymann and Joost Elffers

• Secret Seahorse by Stella Blackstone and Clare Beaton

• Ocean Lullaby  by Sally Odgers and Lisa Stewart 

• The Seacret of Driftus and Sprout  by Maree Coote

• Peanut Butter and Jellyfish  by Jarrett J. Krosoczka 

• Sully the Seahorse by Natalie Pritchard and Natalie Merheb

• Seahorses are Sold Out by Constanze Spengler and Katie Gehrmann  

For beginning readers looking for longer texts these short novels are popular

• Sylvie's Seahorse  by Mara Bergman

• The Not-So-Tiny Tales of Simon Seahorse: Simon Says Book 1 by Cora Reef and Liam Darcy There are nine titles so far.

• Seahorse Stars  by Zuzu Singer and Helen Turner. There are six titles.

Why do some titles have seahorse as two words? Another mystery to solve.

Seahorses, something so small and hard to find truly are inspiring! We can learn so much from them!

In the video Matt Ottley set students a task to find something for each letter of the alphabet, so make an alphabet poster where the students can record their answers. I need to find out more about the other creatures in the poster...an octopus, a starfish, a flying fish, a Bird of Paradise...