When a gray seal named Shoebert appeared in Beverly’s Shoe Pond in September, it didn’t take long for photographer Stanley Forman to show up, too.

“It was a seal in Shoe Pond. I mean, unbelievable,” Forman said.

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Forman spent his career as a photojournalist, winning three Pulitzer prizes for his work covering civil rights and busing protests in the 1970s, fires, and other breaking news.

Forman, who came to the pond daily to photograph Shoebert and take in the scene, ended up teaming up with his wife Debbie Forman to write a children’s book called “Shoebert’s Great Adventure.”

He’s semi-retired now, living near Shoe Pond and chasing breaking news around Beverly as a freelancer. Shoebert the seal’s arrival was a welcome delight, he said.

“I like to say I've covered everybody's misery for the last 55 years. And now I got a beautiful story,” Forman said.

Shoebert stayed in Shoe Pond for days, seemingly content evading several rescue attempts.

“The seal has a personality,” he said. “I was there at 5:30, 6, 6:15 in the morning, and Shoebert was waiting for us.”

He captured Shoebert poking his head out of the water when a dog walking along the pond barked, his big, black eyes looking toward shore.

“The dog was barking and the woman was walking around the pond, and there was Shoebert following her,” he said. “We both felt that Shoebert thought it was a seal, one of his friend seals barking.”

At one point, Forman waved his keys to see if he could catch the seal’s attention.

“I know it sounds crazy, but he was smiling at me,” he said.

Shoebert eventually made his way out of the pond and into the parking lot of a Beverly Police station, where he was picked up and taken to the Mystic Aquarium for rehabilitation. It was good news: Shoebert was in good health, no longer confined to a small pond.

But Forman missed him, he said.

That’s when his wife, Debbie, got creative.

“Shoebert left on Friday. On Saturday night, Debbie and I were going out for ice cream, we're big ice cream people, and I was telling her how much I missed Shoebert because I didn't get to see him,” Forman said. “And all of a sudden she made believe she was Shoebert. She was imitating Shoebert: ‘One day I went swimming in Beverly Harbor. I saw lots of beautiful fish and decided to follow them. We ended up swimming into a dark tunnel that led to a pond near a lot of tall buildings.’”

Debbie Forman was just joking around, but together, they came up with an idea: Turn Stanley’s photos and Debbie’s words into a children’s book.

“My career has always been about me, and now I'm doing something that we're doing, we're doing it together,” he said. “It's just so exciting. It's just the ultimate.”

“Shoebert’s Great Adventure” is dedicated to the couple’s grandson, Liam. It’s available online at Blurb.com at in person at Sweetwater & Co. in Beverly Farms.

WATCH: Famous gray seal returns to North Shore

“In some kind of form, maybe he'll show it to his children and his grandchildren,” Forman said.

As for Shoebert, after rehabbing at Mystic Aquarium, he was released off the coast of Block Island into a gray seal habitat. But he didn't stay away from his favorite city in the commonwealth for long.

He quickly swam back up to the North Shore and an aquarium tracker spotted him just outside of Beverly once again. This time, though, he didn't stop by Shoe Pond, but headed further north as his great adventure continues.