Book Review: Hamburger Soup

By Alex Hebert

Just as the title suggests, this children’s book written by Samantha Beynon is about Hamburger Soup…and don’t forget the fry bread!

Simgan, a young Nisga’a boy, learns to cook hamburger soup and fry bread with his grandmother. The book blends Nisga’a vocabulary while she is storytelling about the food, her family, and her forever memories.

The story is set in the fall, when it’s time for harvesting and storing food for winter. I was introduced to soapberries, which are, apparently, bittersweet. I might have to try that someday.

Jiji invites Simgan to learn how to cook. She explains that there are all kinds of variations of hamburger soup. The recipe provided in the book has macaroni, but some people make it with potato; some people use corned beef or wild game instead of hamburger. My own grandma made it with macaroni.

I like how Grandmother reminds Simgan to wash his hands before cooking and tells him to sing the Gisi-Diwaaxhl Maal (row, row, row your canoe) song. All the dirt from your hands should disappear by the time you are done.

Simgan learns how to wash and cut vegetables properly – even crying while he’s cutting the onions. I can relate to that. Grandmother explains that onions have little tricks they like to play on people.

She also starts working on the dough for the fry bread. Grandmother explains that the secret about fry bread is to always poke a hole in the middle before frying. Then your frybread will cook through and not be raw in the middle. This is a good tip.

Grandmother and Simgan also put some of the hamburger soup aside to share with others. They talked about the importance of sharing and giving back to the community wherever possible.

The Nisga’a Nation includes the villages of Gingolx, Laxgalts’ap, Gitwinksihlkw, and Gitlaxt’aamiks along Ka’lii-Aksim Lisims (The Nass River) in Northwest British Columbia.

Hamburger Soup is beautifully illustrated by Kelsey Fitzgerald. I love the retro Corningware dish on the cover – my mom and grandma have those. Grandma’s earrings have a beautiful design – they also refer to a beautifully carved wooden spoon. Very bright and fun to read! I’ve shared the recipe below in case you’d like to try your hand at making Hamburger Soup:

Recipe for Hamburger Soup

1 Tbsp cooking oil

1 lb ground beef (or any meat)

1 medium onion, chopped

2 large carrots, chopped

3 celery stalks, chopped

1 can diced tomatoes

3 cups water or beef broth

1 cup uncooked elbow macaroni

Salt and pepper

Directions: In a big soup pot, add oil and cook the ground beef and onion over medium heat until the meat is browned, about 8 minutes. Add carrots, celery and cook for 5 more minutes. Add diced tomatoes, water (or broth), and macaroni. Put a lid on the pot and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to low and let simmer for 1-2 hours, stirring occasionally. When the veggies are soft and the soup smells yummy, season with salt and pepper to taste.

Note: When I made this, I added garlic.

Samantha Benyon and Illustrated by Kelsey Fitzgerald, Hamburger Soup. Harbour Publishing, 2026

ISBN: 9781998526505.