Returning to the Yakoun River

by Sara Florence Davidson, Robert Davidson, Janine Gibbons (Illustrator)

Overview

Based on author Sara Florence Davidson’s childhood memories, this illustrated story captures the joy and adventure of a Haida fish camp.

Every summer, a Haida girl and her family travel up the Yakoun River on Haida Gwaii, following the salmon. While their father fishes, the girl and her brother spend their time on the land playing and learning from Tsinii (Grandfather).

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781774920213
Publisher:	Portage & Main Press
Publication date:	09/06/2022
Series:	Sk'ad'a Stories Series , #3
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	8.10(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	840L (what's this?)
Age Range:	6 - 8 Years

About the Author

Sara Florence Davidson (she/her) is a Haida/Settler Assistant Professor in Indigenous Education in the Faculty of Education at Simon Fraser University. Previously, she was an educator working with adolescents in the K-12 system in British Columbia and Yukon Territory. Sara is the co-author of Potlatch as Pedagogy: Learning through Ceremony­, which she wrote with her father, and Magical Beings of Haida Gwaii, which she wrote with her stepmother, Terri-Lynn Williams-Davidson.

When she is not reading or writing, Sara can be found walking with her dog, drinking tea, or listening to stories and learning something new.

Robert Davidson is one of the most respected and important contemporary artists in Canada. A Northwest Coast native of Haida descent, he is a master carver of totem poles and masks and works in a variety of other media as a printmaker, painter, and jeweller. A leading figure in the renaissance of Haida art and culture, Robert is best known as an impeccable craftsman whose creative and personal interpretation of traditional Haida form is unparalleled. He has also been recognized with many awards, including being named an Officer to the Order of Canada.

Janine Gibbons, a Haida Raven of the Double-Fin Killer Whale Clan, Brown Bear House, is a multi-disciplinary artist and award-winning illustrator. Janine’s works are inspired by the waters and lands of the Pacific Northwest, and their myriad colours, energies, and languages. Janine graduated from the Art Institute of Seattle and Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. Janine has illustrated four books in the Sealaska Heritage’s Baby Raven Reads series, including Raven Makes the Aleutians, an AIYLA Honor Book, and most recently Nang Jáadaa Sg̱áana ‘Láanaa aa Isdáayaan (The Woman Carried Away by Killer Whales), which is entirely in the Haida language Xaad Kíl.

Editorial Reviews

Among CBC Books 40 Canadian picture books to watch for in fall 2022

CBC Books

Among CCBC's Best Books for Kids & Teens 2023

CCBC

Among The Beat's A Small Press Spotlight

Comicsbeat

Among American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL) Best Books 2022

American Indians in Children's Literature

Among IBBY Canada's 2020-2022 From Sea to Sea to Sea: Celebrating Indigenous Picture Book Collection

IBBY Canada

Each of the four books documents a different day in the authors’ lives, including learning to carve argillite and fishing on the Yakoun River. Along the way, they immerse the reader in an Indigenous approach to teaching and learning. The collection really honours the people in the stories.

Vancouver Sun - Kaitlyn Bailey

When author Sara Florence Davidson was growing up, much of her love for storytelling was inspired by her father, renowned carver and artist Robert Davidson. Enter Returning to the Yakoun River and Dancing With Our Ancestors, written by Sara and Robert.

Windspeaker