In early spring, during the time of Wihlaxs (the Black Bear’s Walking Moon), salmon fry leave their hatching grounds in search of nursing water. It doesn't take long for these tiny fish to become independent of their yolk sacs. After a couple of years, the little sockeye becomes a smoult, preparing itself to move from freshwater to the saltwater of the ocean. When the spring salmon make their trek up the Skeena River, it is time for these smoults to make their journey to the sea.

The Gitxsan, who live near the Skeena River, prepare their nets to capture these spring salmon. A ceremony is held to give thanks and pray that the salmon will always return and nourish the people and land.

Those smoults who make it to the Pacific swim north to feed and grow. After two years, the “sockeye mother” swims against the current of the river to return to the exact place where she was spawned. This is the time of Lasa lik’i’nxsw (the Grizzly Bear’s Moon). People and bears catch thousands of salmon at this time. Grizzlys often carry their catch into the forest where they eat only the eggs and fatty bellies leaving the rest of the fish to decay and nourish the forest.

The salmon that make it to the nesting areas lay their eggs and “die a replenishing death” thus fertilizing the water and land.

What I love most about this book is how it highlights the Salmon’s role as a keystone species both ecologically and culturally for the Gitxsan people in Northern BC. At the same time as it takes the reader through the life cycle of this important fish, it shows us how connected the people are to it during each phase.

I appreciated that the text uses Gitxsan terms and doesn’t hesitate to use challenging vocabulary. It explains that the sockeye has to avoid predators and “dodge the changing landscape denuded by the clear-cutting of man.” Some scientific vocabulary is explained in small text boxes. The back matter gives extra information about the Gitxsan people and shows a map of their unceded territory.

The sense of connection between people and salmon is there in the use of the Gitxsan language in the text, but it’s integral to the illustrations. The images are gorgeously coloured in the shades of the rainforest and river. Having visited this part of the world, I can attest that it captures the terrain brilliantly. What brings it all together though, is the use of traditional art into these landscapes.

All school libraries should own at least one copy of this book.

Vibrant illustrations bring this non-fiction children's book to life, with the wonder of the sockeye salmon, which feeds the Gitxsan people, as well as the surrounding lands and forests, for which, they celebrate its return seasonally, with prayer and gratitude!

The Sockeye Mother by Hetxw’ms Gyetxw (Brett David Huson) and Natasha Donovan is a beautiful non-fiction story about the importance of the sockeye salmon to the Gitxsan people. Providing the reader with a detailed look at the sockeye salmon lifecycle, this book serves as an important reminder to us all about the interconnectedness of all species. If one species isn’t allowed to fulfill their destiny, so to speak, we all can suffer as a result. The Sockeye Mother is the perfect book to add to your science reading. Huson’s love of science is reflected through his caring take on the sockeye’s journey, providing the reader with scientific terminology (with definitions) throughout. Putting the terminology in the story where the word is encountered is so key for young readers. No one wants to have to turn to the back of the book every time to find the definition of a word. Also, including many of the Gitxsan words, as well as the link to a pronunciation guide at the back, is the perfect touch. The reader can sense the importance of the sockeye to the Gitxsan people throughout the book, while also learning about the environment, lifecycles, and stewardship. Information about the Gitxsan themselves can be found on the information page at the back of the book. I absolutely love the beautiful art by Natasha Donovan, taking us through the life of the Miso’o, sockeye, while providing a glimpse of the life that goes on around the Xsan, Skeena River, and including some recognizable traditional Gitxsan imagery hidden throughout. The Sockeye Mother is a book that should make its way into all school libraries and science classes.

When you live in a city, you tend to get disconnected from nature. We might see it in the park, and we might see it in our gardens, but we don't connect it all in our minds. And this might be the problem with why so many people do not get that we really are interconnected.

This lovely, lush, beautifully illustrated picture book uses the example of the Sockeye salmon to explain how important it is to the existence of all life around it, not just the people, Gitxsan, of the Xsan (or River of Mists or the Colonial name of Skeena River).

We learn the life's path of the Miso'o or the sockeye, from fry (their earliest form post egg) to their final breeding form, as the months change, and the different moons signal different things in the life of the fish.

This is a wonderful way to introduce children, and probably some adults, to just how important a small little fish can be, and why it is important to the Gitxsan rely on it.

Just look at these lovely pictures.

<img src="http://www.reyes-sinclair.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Screen-Shot-2017-12-18-at-5.27.14-PM.png">

<img src="http://www.reyes-sinclair.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Screen-Shot-2017-12-18-at-5.26.41-PM.png">

And there is a great <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_LvJDbsmkE&feature=youtu.be">youtube video</a> that lets you hear all the Gitxsan words pronounced.


Highly recommended to children, libraries, schools, and homes. A lovely book to own and look at, and perhaps, learn from.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.