You're looking at a chess book that:

• Prompted the internet comment, "Children love it."
• An expert has termed "charming and clear."
• When given by a grandmother to her grandchildren caused them to give up all games in favor of chess.
• Begins with clever whimsical cartoons of a seahorse teaching chess to Cary Grunt, Gary Grouper, Joan Crawfish, and Stella Starfish.
• Represents a serious, but light-hearted, introduction to chess suitable for all ages (but particularly the young.)
• Includes bits of chess lore, some fictitious, such as Jose Capablanca (World Champion, 1921-1927) outwitting the devil as they played for Capablanca's very soul.
• Clearly analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of the pieces using 3d computer-generated illustrations.
• Uses boards with each square clearly labeled using the algebraic notation.

Here's what a reviewer has said:

"The book covers basic 'introductory' information such as how the pieces move, some simple tactics, basic endgame ideas and the rules of the game.  This book is intended to be a first introduction to chess, not a comprehensive beginners course.  With that in mind, I feel the book is very effective at what it sets out to do.

"The strongest point to this book is that it teaches chess through 'discussions' among the five cartoon characters.  This approach allows the authors to drive home key points by repeating them in the course of conversations, as might happen between students and teachers.  This approach keeps the text from becoming dry and boring, which would be important in keeping the interest of young people.  I remember my first books on chess were packed with information, but not a lot of fun to read.  Although this book is oriented towards children, it is written at a level that would be informative and appealing to most adults as well.  I gave this book to one of my fellow graduate students (a non-player) and he found it quite useful.  Thus, it would be a good book for beginners of all ages.

"Sammy Seahorse Teaches Chess covers some basic concepts very well.  I was particularly impressed with the discussion of pins, forks, skewers and the importance of controlling the center was clearly stressed.  The presentation of ranks and files is the best I have seen in any beginning book.  The brief discussion of the fundamental concepts of endgames coupled with the previously mentioned items was sufficient for my beginner friend to successfully defeat Chessmaster 2100 in several games, although he had never played a game before squaring off against the computer.  As I watched him play, he made continued references to the concepts he had gleaned from this book, which he read in just three days!  In addition to the solid chess instruction, the humorous descriptions of the five characters make the book fun to read in general.  The cartoons are well drawn and appealing to the eye.

"In conclusion, Sammy Seahorse Teaches Chess is a well-written and effective chess teaching tool.  For those members who are looking for a book to start a child on chess (i.e. Christmas or birthday gift for a child, grandchild, niece or nephew), I would definitely recommend this book.

Do you know that?

• Chess is a mandatory part of elementary and high school curricula in almost thirty countries.
• Former Secretary of Education Terrell Bell in his book Your Child's Intellect touted chess as an excellent way to increase elementary school preparedness.
• The New York City Chess Program found that playing chess can result in higher grades, especially in English and Math.
• Time Magazine, February 7, 2000 noted "studies in New York City show that kids who play chess perform better in reading on national standardized tests.  The gains are especially impressive in students who initially lagged behind their classmates.  Schools across the U.S. are incorporating the game into their curriculums.  Chess-in-the-Schools, the largest program, teaches the game to more than 36,000 students in 160 schools in New York City.  Meanwhile, the U.S. Chess Federation, the governing body for all tournament play, has 42,000 junior members--an elevenfold increase since 1989.  'Years back, people who played chess were considered nerdy,' says Barbara DeMaro, a spokeswoman for the federation.  'But now chess is cool.'"
• Sammy Seahorse's inside front cover, as shown here, summarizes the appearance and relative values of the chessmen for quick and easy reference.

Click to enlarge.

• People everywhere are discovering the rewards of teaching their children the ancient game of chess.  Chess fosters intellectual development, teaches valuable "real-world" skills, and encourages friendly competition between boys and girls.
• Professor Bloss's first book on chess, as noted on the back cover of Sammy Seahorse Teaches Chess, went through several printings and enjoyed many favorable reviews, including, "This is without doubt the best book on chess instruction I have ever seen."

Click to enlarge.

• Nobody's perfect.  There is at least one typographical error in the book.  On page 39, Bf1-B5 should be Bf1-b5.  There is another.  Can you find it?

The Table of Contents for Sammy Seahorse Teaches Chess:

 

Opening Remarks	5	Forking Attacks by Bishops	80
How Did it Happen?	7	Weakness of the Bishop	82
White, Black, and Placing the Board	11	Skewers and Forking Attacks by Rooks	82
Files, Ranks, and Naming the Squares	13	Attacks by the Queen	90
The Chessmen and Their Moves	16	More About Pawns	94
Assigning Values to the Chessmen	30	The Power of the Pin	109
Setting Up the Board	32	Discovered Attacks	112
Pawns, the Soul of Chess	34	Sammy Demonstrates Some Checkmates	119
Recording Chess Moves	39	Draws	126
Protection	45	The Three Parts of a Chess Game	133
Being En Prise	45	Some Principles of the Endgame	135
Queens' Side and Kings' Side	47	Standard Endings	145
Beginning a Game	48	Rambling Rooks	158
Castling	59	Other Cooperations	169
Sammy Defines Material	64	Touch-Move	173
Sammy Defines Position	64	The Devil and Capablanca	173
Forking Attacks by Knights	65	Commonly Used Openings	175
Weakness of the Knight	75	Appendix: The Laws of Chess	190
Skewering Attacks by Bishops	76

 

Other Books by F. D. Bloss:

Chess
Chess at a glance (Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1967)
Rate your own chess (Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1972)
Rate your own chess (Revised, Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1981)

Other Books
In progress: Encore! Mark Twain!
Mark Twain's life and excerpts from his writings, highlighted with cartoons devised by Bloss (and drawn by George Wills and Shelly Fischman).

Click to enlarge pictures and see captions.

Crystallography
Introduction to the methods of optical crystallography (Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1961)
X-ray diffraction tables (Southern Illinois University Press, 1966) with J. H. Fang
Cristalografía óptica (Ediciones Omega, S. A. Barcelona, 1970)
Crystallography and crystal chemistry (Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1971)
Laboratory manual for optical crystallography (Burgess Publishing Co., 1980) with Norris W. Jones
The spindle stage: Principles and practice (Cambridge University Press, 1981)
Crystallography and crystal chemistry (Revised, Mineralogical Society of America, 1994)
Optical crystallography (Mineralogical Society of America, 1999)