One Fall day, Kate goes with her father, a fish biologist, to the river where he works in the Pacific rain forest--the "salmon forest," as he calls it. Together, they watch the sockeye salmon returning to the river to spawn, watch fat slugs and squawking gulls, and witness a bear scooping up a salmon. Next, they meet a boy named Brett and his family fishing at a pool in the river, and learn how to clean and cook salmon before sharing a tasty meal.

With charming, informative text and watercolor illustrations that magically evoke the spirit and mystery of the West Coast, Salmon Forest celebrates the surprising connection between the salmon and the forest, and why they need each other.