Customer Reviews

The Girl Who Swam with the Fish: An Athabascan Legend

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An Athabascan legend, this story recounts the reverence of the Native people of Alaska for the salmon that provides them with sustenance. Prior to this version, the story was narrated by an elder from the Alaskan village of Nikolai.

In summertime a young girl stands by the river day after day waiting for the king salmon to return, swimming against the current, to the place of their birth. She and her family, living in a tiny fish camp, had been hungry often during the previous winter. But the girl gets so excited when she finally spies the salmon that she slips down the bank and into the river. Alas!

Never fear! She soon becomes a salmon herself, though she retains her lovely neck and head, and when it is time for the salmon to leave and return to the sea, she goes with them. And she lives the salmon life for several years, learning about their ways, their likes and dislikes. She is ultimately able to impart this knowledge to her family, which serves to improve their lot on earth.

What I found fascinating is a description of how Native American tribal people constructed drying racks for salmon out of long poles of spruce, and the procedures they followed with care for a successful outcome of the delicious meat.

It is hard to believe this is the author's first children's book, her writing is so skillful. And the woodcut illustrations by Christine Cox are stunning, even flowing over the darkened borders. The book won the 1995 Rocky Mountain Book Publishers Association Design Contest for children's/young adult books. One can easily see why.

Any child can delight in this tale. And any adult can too!
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