• Age: 3 to 6
• Grade: 1

The long-awaited sequel to BC children's classic Jason and the Sea Otter.

This delightful story of a Nuu-chah-nulth boy explores First Nations traditions and values through the making of a canoe. Jason's first canoe is crushed during a storm, and he must replace it. Through Uncle Silas, he learns the traditional methods of canoe building - plus scores of stories and legends about his heritage. In an entertaining way, Jason's New Dugout Canoe also teaches the important lesson of patience, plus respect and reverence for nature and all its creatures.

The story is packed with stunning, full-colour illustrations by Paul Montpellier, which one reviewer has described as "wonderfully clear and detailed, capturing both closeness to nature and a sense of continuity of Native tradition."

Joe Barber-Starkey was born in England in 1918, but spent nearly all his life on Vancouver Island working in municipal and environmental engineering. After retirement he spent 10 years as a volunteer guide for school programs at the Royal BC Museum. He has written two children's books for Harbour Publishing, Jason and the Sea Otter and Jason's New Dugout Canoe.

Joe Barber-Starkey's profile page

Paul Montpellier was born in Vancouver in 1949. He trained at the Calgary Art School and has worked as both an artist/illustrator and a set designer. Since 1977 he has been a tree surgeon for the National Parks Board. Paul wrote and illustrated Atlas and illustrated the bestselling Jason and the Sea Otter and Jason's New Dugout Canoe, both written by Joe Barber Starkey.

Paul Montpellier's profile page

Jason’s New Dugout Canoe

A storm washes away Jason’s canoe. He is devastated until Uncle Silas offers to build him a new one, and to teach Jason the ancient craft of canoe-making. First, a block of wood is cut from the trunk of a large red cedar tree (without killing the tree) and left several months to season. Then it is hollowed out using axes, adzes, chisels and knives. Before contact, Aboriginal peoples used stone, bone and shells, and sometimes fire, for this task it took a whole year to make one canoe. The sides of the canoe are shaped by filling the hollow canoe with hot water to soften the wood, then gently hammering crosspieces between the sides. There is a large celebration to honour the completion of Jason’s canoe, with smoked salmon, dancing and story-telling.

Barber-Starkey wrote Jason and the Sea Otter, also illustrated by Montpellier.