A Salmon for Simon

Reach for this book when your child is grappling with the desire to 'keep' or 'own' something from nature, or when they are learning that caring for an animal sometimes means letting it go. Simon, a young boy from a First Nations community, spends his summer desperately trying to catch a salmon. When a lucky accident lands a beautiful coho in a tide pool right in front of him, he is faced with a profound choice. As he watches the fish lose its strength, his excitement turns into deep empathy. This is a gentle, beautifully illustrated story about the transition from the urge to hunt or possess toward a mature respect for the wild. It is an ideal pick for teaching kindness, the ethics of catch-and-release, and the importance of ecological harmony.