Two picture books have shown swimming to be an impactful part of human lives. These books encourage their young readers to see the endless possibilities of water and to use the resource in unconventional ways.
The first book, “Swimmers,” began with a Mariana Alcántara’s collage of charcoal and fluorescent ink drawing, to which María José Ferrada added a fanciful story with symbolic and poetic undertones. The story is about fish dreaming of becoming Olympic swimmers, and Olympic swimmers dreaming that they’re fish.
The storyline is nonlinear, and this structure only adds to the idea that water gives humans a sense of freedom and is filled with playful possibilities. There is fluid interplay between the human and fish world, as seen by the fish in swimsuits and swimmers with fins.
“The fish all wake up at the same time, just when they’ve finished the 150-meter race. Even though it’s never a dream they want to wake up from, they aren’t sad. … It’s a dream that has been dreamed by fish since the world was the world and the sea was the sea, and it always will be,” the author said.
In the second book, “The Summer of Diving,” Sara Stridsberg, an acclaimed Swedish novelist and playwright, depicts an innocent and imaginative child, Zoe, who is waiting for everyday life to be different.
With the story being told from a child’s point of view, in the first few pages, the readers experience the all-too-familiar childhood feeling of when adults keep sensitive information to themselves. It is later revealed that Zoe’s father is in the mental hospital, suffering from severe depression.
Zoe encounters an intriguing woman named Sabrina, who spends her days swimming with Zoe. Of course, there is no pool and no water, so Zoe conjures up the Pacific Ocean in her mind while she dives off the park bench and swims in the grass, drawn in a vibrant and color-saturated style by Sara Lundberg, winner of both the Swedish Book Award and the August Prize.
Sabrina becomes a sort of an angel for Zoe, visiting her when Zoe’s father is too sad to see her. The story shows how children’s idea of mental illness creates gaps in their knowledge, their openness to friendship, their vulnerability at their young age, and their process of maturation through their memories.
Even in unlikely places such as children’s picture books, we can see the way water is universally appreciated. From imaginative tales to coming-of-age stories, swimming is undeniably an important factor to human life.
Link to articles:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/29/books/review/johnnie-christmas-swim-team.html
The first book, “Swimmers,” began with a Mariana Alcántara’s collage of charcoal and fluorescent ink drawing, to which María José Ferrada added a fanciful story with symbolic and poetic undertones. The story is about fish dreaming of becoming Olympic swimmers, and Olympic swimmers dreaming that they’re fish.
The storyline is nonlinear, and this structure only adds to the idea that water gives humans a sense of freedom and is filled with playful possibilities. There is fluid interplay between the human and fish world, as seen by the fish in swimsuits and swimmers with fins.
“The fish all wake up at the same time, just when they’ve finished the 150-meter race. Even though it’s never a dream they want to wake up from, they aren’t sad. … It’s a dream that has been dreamed by fish since the world was the world and the sea was the sea, and it always will be,” the author said.
In the second book, “The Summer of Diving,” Sara Stridsberg, an acclaimed Swedish novelist and playwright, depicts an innocent and imaginative child, Zoe, who is waiting for everyday life to be different.
With the story being told from a child’s point of view, in the first few pages, the readers experience the all-too-familiar childhood feeling of when adults keep sensitive information to themselves. It is later revealed that Zoe’s father is in the mental hospital, suffering from severe depression.
Zoe encounters an intriguing woman named Sabrina, who spends her days swimming with Zoe. Of course, there is no pool and no water, so Zoe conjures up the Pacific Ocean in her mind while she dives off the park bench and swims in the grass, drawn in a vibrant and color-saturated style by Sara Lundberg, winner of both the Swedish Book Award and the August Prize.
Sabrina becomes a sort of an angel for Zoe, visiting her when Zoe’s father is too sad to see her. The story shows how children’s idea of mental illness creates gaps in their knowledge, their openness to friendship, their vulnerability at their young age, and their process of maturation through their memories.
Even in unlikely places such as children’s picture books, we can see the way water is universally appreciated. From imaginative tales to coming-of-age stories, swimming is undeniably an important factor to human life.
Link to articles:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/29/books/review/johnnie-christmas-swim-team.html
