Sheena Lott

This sweet picture book features letters from one cousin to another. Thomas writes from the big city, saying how sad and bored Jessie must be living on an island away from all the fun things that he gets to see and do. Most of the book is Jessie's response, talking about all the wonderful things she can see and do on her Pacific Northwest island. While the book is Canadian, this is a lovely read for anyone who loves being on the beach or in the water in the Puget Sound area (or anyone who show more wants to know what spending time in the San Juans or similar areas is really like). You'll definitely want to go whale watching or tide pool walking after reading this! show less

Enjoyed how the story details the true circular nature of life that exists with fish and other wildlife in a fictional format. In this way, children can learn detailed information about salmon spawning and life cycle in an enjoyable format. Particularly liked that the end of the book provided a salmon recipe for students to try.

A fish biologist takes his daughter to the "salmon forest," a river in the west coast rain forest where he works. Students will enjoy learning about salmon in this interesting story with beautiful imagery that integrates well with life cycle science.

Recommended for ages 7-10.

The book Salmon Forest by David Suzuki and Sarah Ellis is an informational text about the salmon life cycle. The main character, Kate, learns about the dependency of the forest ecosystem through observing salmon returning to the river to spawn.
I like this book because it would be relatable to many of the students in the area in which I teach because I’m sure many of them have been out in the woods and have probably even been salmon fishing.
I would use this book to teach about the forest show more ecosystem and salmon life cycle but would also tie it into a unit on Oregon’s natural resources because one of those natural resources is salmon. show less