Children will enjoy the unique collage illustrations and an unexpected twist in this retelling of a traditional Irish legend about an old man seeking an enchanted fish that will give him all the knowledge in the world and a young boy hoping to become a great warrior.

This is the story of the great Gaelic hero Fionn MacCool and why he sucks his thumb. This traditional Gaelic tale is retold as an action story to read aloud. It introduces children to storytelling and to Gaelic oral tradition, language, culture, and belief systems. The action story presents gestures corresponding to nine keywords in the story. As the story is read aloud, children perform the matching gesture whenever they hear each keyword. The book contains two versions of the action story, the first entirely in English, and the second in English with Scottish Gaelic keywords. Once children become familiar with the all-English version, the second version with Gaelic action words can be introduced. The actions are the same in both versions, and act as a bridge to introduce the Gaelic vocabulary and increase awareness of the language. This story is one of the tales of the boyhood deeds of Fionn MacCool (or Fionn MacCumhail as he is known in Scottish Gaelic). The tale is rooted in the oral traditions of pre-Christian Celtic culture, and the earliest known written version dates to the 12th century CE. Tales of Fionn and his band of Fiana were popular across the Gaelic world, from Ireland to the Isle of Man and Scotland. Scottish Gaels brought tales of Fionn MacCool to Nova Scotia beginning in the 18th or 19th century and transmitted them orally from one generation to the next as part of their Gaelic culture. Fionn tales were recorded in Nova Scotia in the 1970s and form an important part of Canadian Gaelic heritage and culture. The book is suitable for reading aloud at Gaelic and Celtic cultural events, in community group activities, and in schools as a part of lessons on Gaelic culture, English language arts, public speaking, theatre or drama studies, geography, history, and child studies programs. Adults, teens, and older children can read the story aloud to a group, or adapt the story in various ways as the centrepiece of a lesson on Gaelic culture and beliefs. A free online teaching guide with a pronunciation video is available.

“A fitting eulogy to the master of wacky words and even wackier tales . . . Salmon leaves no doubt as to Adams’s lasting legacy.”—Entertainment Weekly With an introduction to the introduction by Terry Jones Douglas Adams changed the face of science fiction with his cosmically comic novel The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and its classic sequels. Sadly for his countless admirers, he hitched his own ride to the great beyond much too soon. Culled posthumously from Adams’s fleet of beloved Macintosh computers, this selection of essays, articles, anecdotes, and stories offers a fascinating and intimate portrait of the multifaceted artist and absurdist wordsmith. Join Adams on an excursion to climb Kilimanjaro . . . dressed in a rhino costume; peek into the private life of Genghis Khan—warrior and world-class neurotic; root for the harried author’s efforts to get a Hitchhiker movie off the ground in Hollywood; thrill to the further exploits of private eye Dirk Gently and two-headed alien Zaphod Beeblebrox. Though Douglas Adams is gone, he’s left us something very special to remember him by. Without a doubt. “Worth reading and even cherishing, if only because it’s the last we’ll hear from the master of comic science fiction.”—The Star-Ledger

To be the wisest person in the world, knowing absolutely everything, that was the aim of one man, Finnegas. All he had to do was catch and eat the Salmon of Knowledge.

Finn McCool is the largest giant in all of Ireland. He's a fierce warrior, even beating the giant Culcullan and saving Ireland from the Scots. Helpful and kind, he helps the farmers bring in the hay. And everyone in the village of Drumnahoon admires him. "He's the best-hearted man that ever walked on Ireland's green grass." But for all his strength, courage, and goodness, there's one thing that Finn lacks. He's just not smart. And he knows it. When a wise man living in a nearby village tells Finn about a magical red salmon with the wisdom of the world, Finn sets out to catch the fish. And he learns a thing or two about himself in the process. An author of more than 250 children's books, Eve Bunting has won numerous awards and honors, including a Pen International Special Achievement award for her contribution to Children's Literature. In 2002 she was chosen to be Irish American Woman of the Year by the Irish American Heritage Committee of New York. She lives in Pasadena, California. Zachary Pullen's picture-book illustrations have won awards and garnered starred reviews. He has been honored several times with acceptance into the prestigious Society of Illustrators juried shows and Communication Arts Illustration Annual of the best in current illustration. Zak lives in Wyoming.

A gorgeous book that shows a deep respect for and understanding of First Nations culture, art, and people.