West Coast Wild Rainforest

Written by Deborah Hodge

Illustrated by Karen Reczuch

Groundwood Books

978-1-77306-839-8

44 pp.

Ages 3+

March 2024

 

Each time I read a book in Deborah Hodge and Karen Reczuch's West Coast Wild series (see the list below), I am transported to the Pacific Northwest to visit the forests, coasts, waters, and mountains. I get to stand under majestic conifers and watch animals play. With West Coast Wild Rainforest, Deborah Hodge and Karen Reczuch lead us into the temperate rainforest and show us the wonders within.

From West Coast Wild Rainforest, text by Deborah Hodge, illus. by Karen Reczuch

Our walk through the rainforest begins with the rain and its role in keeping the forest growing and the fires away. In addition to those multi-storeyed trees, Deborah Hodge introduces readers to mosses, lichens, and other vegetation of the undergrowth. That lush forest is perfect for making a home, and there is much discussion about the relationship between Douglas squirrels and the trees which provide them with shelter and food, and which the squirrels inadvertently replant.

From West Coast Wild Rainforest, text by Deborah Hodge, illus. by Karen Reczuch

In each part of the rainforest, there is life, and the cycles that happen with that life. There are the streams where young salmon hatch. Later they will return to spawn in these same streams, and then become food for the bears, wolves, and eagles, with leftovers fertilizing the forest.

In this wonderful cycle of nature, the trees protect the salmon and the salmon feed the trees. 

From West Coast Wild Rainforest, text by Deborah Hodge, illus. by Karen Reczuch

As the natural cycles of the forest are revealed, more animals are introduced, from black bears and bald eagles, to gray wolves, black-tailed deer, western screech-owls, chest-backed chickadees, and banana slugs. Everything has a place and a purpose, and together they help the forest to grow and thrive and nurture others.

West Coast Wild Rainforest is a lovely walk through a unique biome that defines one part of Canada. For those on the West Coast, this book will be a literary hike to see and smell and feel a complex of ecosystems that encompass vegetation, water, land, and animals. For the many readers who may never have the opportunity to visit British Columbia and its coastal areas, West Coast Wild Rainforest entreats us to do the same but teaches with Deborah Hodge's text and beguiles with Karen Reczuch's watercolour and pencil artwork. This is an opportunity to learn and to be present in a luxuriant biome unique to our Pacific coast. By telling a story with a scientific basis, Deborah Hodge's words show a reverence to the Pacific rainforest without dulling the learning with endless details. And with  Karen Reczuch's illustrations, depicted with realism and profound awe for the landscape and biota of this area, West Coast Wild Rainforest will reach many young, and older, readers and entrap them in the beauty of the Pacific coastal rainforest and fascinate them with its teeming life.

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West Coast Wild series

 West Coast Wild (2015)

West Coast Wild Babies (2020)

West Coast Wild ABC (2022)

West Coast Wild At Low Tide (2022)

West Coast Wild Rainforest (2024)

West Coast Wild Baby Animals (coming May 2024)

If You Want to Visit a Sea Garden

Written by Kay Weisman

Illustrated by Roy Henry Vickers

Groundwood Books

978-1-55498-970-6

32 pp.

Ages 5-9

September 2020

Sea gardens are man-made reefs traditionally constructed by Pacific Northwest Indigenous peoples for cultivating clams and other shellfish. Some of these sea gardens which consist of boulders lined up at the lowest tide line have been around for thousands of years. They are significant cultural elements of the First Nations both for the food that is provided by the shellfish harvested here and the community that utilizes them and Kay Weisman brings readers to that community of gratitude with her words as Roy Henry Vickers delivers us to that sense of place.

From If You Want to Visit a Sea Garden by Kay Weisman, illus. by Roy Henry Vickers

If You Want to Visit a Sea Garden begins with a child and adult setting out in the early morning when the sea gardens are revealed by the lowest of tides. They take their canoe out at dawn and "Listen closely for the symphony of clams, welcoming us to their beaches. Here, there and everywhere they spurt and sputter, exhaling right on cue."

As they walk on the beach, the elder, whether grandfather or father, recounts the history of the sea gardens, around for thousands of years, sometimes built piecemeal over time, to give habitat to creatures including rock crabs, chitons, sea stars and, of course, butter clams, littlenecks and cockles.

Imagine the generations of First Peoples who have maintained this wall in order to feed their families. They have come here to build and care for the sea garden, harvest and eat clams, and share stories and knowledge about this special place.

From If You Want to Visit a Sea Garden by Kay Weisman, illus. by Roy Henry Vickers

Like the many to have come to the sea garden, they tend to the garden, returning stray boulders to the wall, clearing away debris and giving new opportunities for the sea garden to thrive. And then, with the tide, it is gone from view, until its next revival.

Kay Weisman makes this pilgrimage to a sea garden a sacred experience for people and the environment. From the interaction between child and adult, solemn and instructive, to the awe-inspiring landscape of forever, Kay Weisman is respectfully informing her readers and honouring the legacy of sea gardens.

From If You Want to Visit a Sea Garden by Kay Weisman, illus. by Roy Henry Vickers

With Roy Henry Vickers's illustrations, which I have admired since reviewing his earlier books (Raven Squawk, Orca Squeak; Hello Humpback; One Eagle Soaring), If You Want to Visit a Sea Garden is elevated. I learned from Kay Weisman's words but they are given life with Roy Henry Vickers's artwork. Using vector illustration tools, Roy Henry Vickers gives a smooth power to his images. While the people are kept in shadows, the scenes are bold and spirited and important symbols of Indigenous cultures are highlighted. The art both gives life and takes our breath away.

If you want to visit a sea garden and cannot tour the West Coast, I suggest a stroll with a child and guardian in Kay Weisman and Roy Henry Vickers's captivating picture book. It's a safe and vibrant way to understand the magic of these amazing sea gardens.