Salmon, the latest title in the Kids Can Wildlife Series, holds the possibility of unlocking the mysterious world of these denizens of both fresh and salt water. The 12 topics look into the fish’s life cycle, habitat, and more. Experienced non-fiction Burnaby writer Deborah Hodge gears her work to younger readers, starting with the most basic information: “Salmon are fish. Fish have gills….”

A “Words to know” feature at the back of the book intelligently explains such terms as “life cycle” and “estuary.” Hodge gives a two-page overview of the complicated topic of life cycle before breaking it into sections on baby salmon, young salmon, and so on. Readers can pick up additional information visually through Nancy Gray Ogle’s watercolours, which show the salmon’s predators in action, although they might have provided more details about the fish.

Hodge’s writing fails to hook readers with the wonder of her topic. The reverence that timeless generations of different cultures have felt for this intriguing and life-giving fish is missed in “salmon has always been an important food for North American people.” The excitement of a river alive with these colourful, thrashing swimmers is not powerfully conveyed in the passage beginning “salmon battle the strong current.”

Even in a first book on fish, the fact that the Atlantic salmon is an endangered species should have been mentioned, if only on the More Salmon Facts page. The book does not include anything specific about conservation, recovery efforts, participation suggestions, or places to find additional resources. With the International Year of Freshwater approaching in 2003, readers seven and up might want more in-depth information.