Awards

• ALA Notable Children's Book
• ALA Top 10 Sustainability Themed Children's Book List
• Booklist Top 10 Environmental & Sustainability Books for Youth
• Children's Book Committee at Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year
• Kirkus Best Books of 2022 for Picture Books

Overview

A mighty river. A long history. For thousands of years, the Elwha River flowed north through the Pacific Northwest, sharing its gifts with the animals, plants, and people along its banks. The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, who call themselves the Strong People, caught salmon from the river, taking only what they needed. River, forest, salmon, and Strong People nourished one another. Everything changed when strangers arrived in the 1790s. They did not understand the river’s gifts, and they saw the land and the river as theirs to tame. These strangers built dams, and the environmental consequences were disastrous. Yet this is not the story of a tragedy. Sibert honoree Patricia Newman and award-winning illustrator Natasha Donovan join forces to tell a tale of hope and renewal, showing how the Strong People, a national park, and others worked together to remove the dams and restore this precious ecosystem so that all could enjoy the river’s gifts once again.

Full Product Details

9781541598706

Table of Contents

Reviews

A river. A desecration. A rebirth. Writing in stirring verse, Newman explains that in what is now Washington state, the Elwha River flowed north to the sea, nourishing the salmon that came each year to lay eggs. There were enough salmon to feed the birds, the animals, and the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, the Strong People, for thousands of years. But when Europeans arrived in the 1790s, they cut down ancient trees to build houses near the river and wrote laws declaring that Strong People couldn't fish or own land. In 1890, dams for generating electricity were built, effectively destroying the river and keeping the salmon from returning. In 1940, Olympic National Park expanded its boundaries to include the dams, and the Strong People worked together to restore the lost river and its habitat. The removal of two dams--the Glines Canyon Dam and Elwha Dam--took years of perseverance and cooperation among the Strong People, the National Park Service, and scientists. It was 2011 when the dams were finally removed; several years later, the rushing river called the salmon home again. Donovan's illustrations, rendered in pencil and ink and digitally, are dynamic, with thick black outlines that pop off the page. Sidebars elaborate on elements introduced in the main text. Beautifully illustrated and informative, this story conveys the fragility of our environment and the need to protect it. An illuminating glimpse at the Elwha River and its gifts.--starred, Kirkus Reviews -- Journal (8/15/2022 12:00:00 AM)

Author Information

Patricia Newman wants us all to know we are part of nature. As a Robert F. Sibert Honor recipient, she shows us how our actions ripple around the world, empowers us to find our own connections to nature, and encourages us to use our imaginations to act on behalf of our communities. Her nonfiction titles have received multiple starred reviews, Orbis Pictus Recommended Awards (NCTE), Green Earth Book Awards, and several Eureka! Awards. She is based in California. Natasha Donovan is the illustrator of the award-winning Mothers of Xsan series (written by Brett Huson). She illustrated the graphic novel Surviving the City (written by Tasha Spillett), which won a Manitoba Book Award and received an American Indian Youth Literature Award (AIYLA) honor. She also illustrated Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer which won an Orbis Pictus Honor Book and an American Indian Youth Literature Award (AIYLA). Natasha is Métis, and spent her early life in Vancouver, British Columbia. Although she moved to the United States to marry a mathematician, she prefers to keep her own calculations to the world of color and line. She lives in Washington. www.natashadonovan.com

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