THE RAVEN MOTHER

Values and practices of the British Columbian Gitxsan Nation are reflected in glimpses of a raven’s natural place and behavior in this latest series entry.

Nox Gaak, a mother raven, cares for two new chicks under a succession of moons with help from the flock—teaching them how to hunt and store food (while noting that forgotten caches can nourish and renew the woodland), stretching wings to soar acrobatically, and, beneath January’s “K’uhloxs,” or “Stories and Feasting Moon,” leading a wolf pack to a moose carcass that is too frozen for ravens to scavenge alone. A delectable description of Spring’s “hagwiltsum,” or salmon chowder, which includes “potatoes, onion, rice, seaweed and, more recently, a touch of curry,” is just one of the frequent references to cultural lifeways embedded in the natural history, and further detail about the Gitxsan Nation, presented with a map and a list of the annual cycle of moons, caps the narrative. Donovan’s illustrations are both stately and naturalistic, with the heavy lines and flatly applied colors of woodcuts. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A rich mix of nature and culture, pointing out connections between the two.