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Authors: Sally Grindley
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stay on just one of them?’
‘We’ll stay for several days on Jandayan Island, which is where many of the studies on seahorses are being carried out, and then we’ll go island-hopping.’
‘Cool!’ said Joe.
Binti explained that there were at least forty species of seahorse in the world.
‘The largest is the big-belly seahorse, which is about the size of a banana, while the smallest is Denise’s pygmy, which is about the size of a pine nut.’
‘I can tell you something about seahorses too,’ said Aesha. ‘It’s the male that gives birth to the babies and he carries them in his pouch.’
‘Quite right,’ Binti agreed. ‘Depending on the species, he can be pregnant from nine to forty-five days, and may have between five and two thousand babies in his pouch.’
‘Two thousand!’ Joe exclaimed.
‘I know something else,’ said Aesha proudly. ‘Seahorses mate for life.’
‘Ah, isn’t that nice,’ said Peter. ‘Just like your mum and me. Though when she gives me one of her scary looks, I wonder if I haven’t made a big mistake.’
Binti gave him a scary look and chased him with a tea towel. Joe joined in, pulling the worst face he could, and Foggy, their schnauzer, woken by the excitement, scurried round Peter’s legs, barking loudly.
‘I knew it! My son’s taking after his mother, and even the dog’s against me,’ Peter cried dramatically. ‘I bet a big-belly seahorse doesn’t have to put up with such treatment. I’ll have to retire to my shed for a bit of peace and quiet.’
‘A seahorse doesn’t have a shed to retire to,’ Aesha observed.
‘More like a stable!’ Joe chortled. ‘Ha!’
‘You’re all mad,’ said Binti, ‘and I’ll be hopping mad if you don’t hurry up and finish packing.’
‘Do you mean island-hopping mad?’ Joe said, grinning.
‘Ha, funny, ha,’ said Aesha. ‘You and Dad tell the worst jokes.’
‘Nobody would think we were going away for a month tomorrow morning from the state of your rooms,’ said Binti in exasperation. ‘Now move!’
‘It’s that scary face again,’ Peter said.
Binti picked up a broom and swept them out of the kitchen.
Joe ran to his bedroom, shoved his model-making kit under the bed, grabbed his underpants, T-shirts and shorts from the drawers and dumped them in the case Binti had left out for him. He took his camera from the shelf, wrapped it in a towel and placed it carefully in a corner of the case. Then he picked up his flip-flops and a pair of sandals and threw them in on top. He could hear Aesha complaining that her suitcase was too small to accommodate everything she needed, and his father replying that she wouldn’t require her ball gown and tiara where they were going.
Joe was incredibly excited. He had been on plenty of trips with his parents before, but this one promised to be particularly fascinating, and he would have plenty of opportunities to take photographs like his father. He loved travelling on boats and he had never snorkelled before, so that was something else to look forward to. There was also something very appealing about seahorses that made him eager to see them in their natural environment. He laid his brand new flippers and snorkel mask in the suitcase, hoping that this was going to be his best adventure yet.
OUT NOW
Also by Sally Grindley
Paw Prints in the Snow
Shadows under the Sea
Coming soon
Danger in the Dust
My Name Is Rose
Bitter Chocolate
Torn Pages
Broken Glass
Spilled Water
Saving Finnegan
Hurricane Wills
Feather Wars
Bloomsbury Publishing, London, New Delhi, New York and Sydney
This electronic edition published in September 2012 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
First published in Great Britain in September 2012 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
50 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3DP
Manufactured and supplied under licence from the Zoological Society of London
Text copyright © Sally Grindley 2012
The moral right of the author has
‘We’ll stay for several days on Jandayan Island, which is where many of the studies on seahorses are being carried out, and then we’ll go island-hopping.’
‘Cool!’ said Joe.
Binti explained that there were at least forty species of seahorse in the world.
‘The largest is the big-belly seahorse, which is about the size of a banana, while the smallest is Denise’s pygmy, which is about the size of a pine nut.’
‘I can tell you something about seahorses too,’ said Aesha. ‘It’s the male that gives birth to the babies and he carries them in his pouch.’
‘Quite right,’ Binti agreed. ‘Depending on the species, he can be pregnant from nine to forty-five days, and may have between five and two thousand babies in his pouch.’
‘Two thousand!’ Joe exclaimed.
‘I know something else,’ said Aesha proudly. ‘Seahorses mate for life.’
‘Ah, isn’t that nice,’ said Peter. ‘Just like your mum and me. Though when she gives me one of her scary looks, I wonder if I haven’t made a big mistake.’
Binti gave him a scary look and chased him with a tea towel. Joe joined in, pulling the worst face he could, and Foggy, their schnauzer, woken by the excitement, scurried round Peter’s legs, barking loudly.
‘I knew it! My son’s taking after his mother, and even the dog’s against me,’ Peter cried dramatically. ‘I bet a big-belly seahorse doesn’t have to put up with such treatment. I’ll have to retire to my shed for a bit of peace and quiet.’
‘A seahorse doesn’t have a shed to retire to,’ Aesha observed.
‘More like a stable!’ Joe chortled. ‘Ha!’
‘You’re all mad,’ said Binti, ‘and I’ll be hopping mad if you don’t hurry up and finish packing.’
‘Do you mean island-hopping mad?’ Joe said, grinning.
‘Ha, funny, ha,’ said Aesha. ‘You and Dad tell the worst jokes.’
‘Nobody would think we were going away for a month tomorrow morning from the state of your rooms,’ said Binti in exasperation. ‘Now move!’
‘It’s that scary face again,’ Peter said.
Binti picked up a broom and swept them out of the kitchen.
Joe ran to his bedroom, shoved his model-making kit under the bed, grabbed his underpants, T-shirts and shorts from the drawers and dumped them in the case Binti had left out for him. He took his camera from the shelf, wrapped it in a towel and placed it carefully in a corner of the case. Then he picked up his flip-flops and a pair of sandals and threw them in on top. He could hear Aesha complaining that her suitcase was too small to accommodate everything she needed, and his father replying that she wouldn’t require her ball gown and tiara where they were going.
Joe was incredibly excited. He had been on plenty of trips with his parents before, but this one promised to be particularly fascinating, and he would have plenty of opportunities to take photographs like his father. He loved travelling on boats and he had never snorkelled before, so that was something else to look forward to. There was also something very appealing about seahorses that made him eager to see them in their natural environment. He laid his brand new flippers and snorkel mask in the suitcase, hoping that this was going to be his best adventure yet.
OUT NOW
Also by Sally Grindley
Paw Prints in the Snow
Shadows under the Sea
Coming soon
Danger in the Dust
My Name Is Rose
Bitter Chocolate
Torn Pages
Broken Glass
Spilled Water
Saving Finnegan
Hurricane Wills
Feather Wars
Bloomsbury Publishing, London, New Delhi, New York and Sydney
This electronic edition published in September 2012 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
First published in Great Britain in September 2012 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
50 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3DP
Manufactured and supplied under licence from the Zoological Society of London
Text copyright © Sally Grindley 2012
The moral right of the author has
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