Come Back, Salmon: How a Group of Dedicated Kids Adopted Pigeon Creek and Brought it Back to Life

by Molly Cone

From Gisela Jernigan--Childrens Literature: "Although Pigeon Creek flows into Washington's beautiful Puget Sound, before it was adopted and cleaned up by Mr. Jackson's fifth grade class, it was so full of trash that you could barely see the water, let alone any fish. Just about everyone in Jackson Elementary, led by the dedicated fifth grade, helped to clean the creek and restock it with baby salmon. Throughout the project the kids learned a great deal about the ecology of the stream and the needs and life cycle of the Coho salmon. And even though many people told them the salmon would never return to Pigeon Creek, they were successful. The many colored photos and drawings enhance the lively text, which is informal, informational and inspiring. Orbis Pictus Award winner and a Horn Book Fanfare award."

Genres: Nonfiction

48 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1994

Reviews

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

About a primary school that adopted a creek, cleaned it up, added salmon fry that it hatched, and re-established salmon. Every kid helped clean up the creek and educate the neighbors on why not to dump stuff in it. They watched the eggs hatch and develop into fry. They learned to test the water quality. They each released at least one young fish. They checked the creek for weeks when the salmon might return. It's a very inspirational story. Makes me want to start such a project here.

[Sunday · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was published in 1992 and is still SO RELEVANT TODAY. If you and your students are studying water, the environment, animals, whatever, this is worthy of your time. Cone's telling of this story made me want to weep. The photographs, illustrations and informative sidebars give lots of information about the five types of Pacific salmon and their value in our world. There's a clear theme of how EVERYTHING IS CONNECTED!! Recommend reading aloud or at least book talking and watching as it's snatched up from your library.

PAIR THIS TEXT with Salmon Stream by Reed-Jones. (I'd read aloud Salmon Stream first.)

[Meghan]

This book is about how Jackson Elementary School in Everett, WA adopted a stream, Pigeon Creek, in the mid 1980’s and brought it from an uninhabitable dumping ground to a flourishing stream, once again alive with salmon. There was incredible effort made by students, who eventually got the attention and support of the nearby community.

[bryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great source for a lesson about conservation. This also may spark an idea for the children to start their own conservation project.

[Darlene Andre · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book showing how kids make a difference and we all need to do our part to help the environment.

[Jaime · Rating 5 out of 5]

best book ever