Carol Reed-Jones

"The salmon come home at the end of their lives.
They spawn, and each little egg that survives
will start the cycle all over again
with the coming of the rain,
and silver smolt will discover the sea,
and turn to salmon swimming free,
and tiny fish will one day hatch
(with their dinners still attached)
from the eggs of a salmon, born to travel.
that hide in the nest of rocky gravel
far beyond the shady pool,
filled with water, clear and cool,
that flows in the stream in the forest."

Science info from the back of the book:
"Within about an hour, each egg absorbs water and becomes firm, or water-hardened, protecting the developing salmon inside. Still, there are many predators; only about two out of every 3,000 eggs laid survive to become spawning adult salmon. The eggs stay hidden in the gravel from one to four months, until they hatch. Now they are called alevins (AL-uh-vins)."

Salmon Stream
by Carol Reed-Jones
ill. Michael Maydak
(Dawn Publications;
phone 1-800-545-7475)
ISBN 1-58469-014-3,
hardcover
ISBN 1-58469-013-5,
paperback