Andrea Fritz
October 18th, 2023
Coast Salish author and artist from the Lyackson First Nation of the Hul’q’umi’num’-speaking Peoples, Andrea Fritz aims to educate children about her people’s culture and language in her kidlit novel, Otter Doesn’t Know (Orca $21.95). The story follows Thuqi’ the sockeye salmon as she tries to find her way to Sta’lo’, the river, because it is time for her to spawn. When Thuqi’ asks Tumus the sea otter for help, he disregards her questions as he doesn’t exactly know either. But, when Tumus finds himself lost in some weeds, Thuqi’ doesn’t hesitate to help the scared otter, showing him that you can still help a friend in need even if you don’t know all the answers. Several Hul’q’umi’num’ words are used and Fritz includes a glossary of the words with their English meaning. 9781459836211
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