When a researcher asked a group of students what they thought of swimming, their answers
ranged from “fear” to “summer” to “fun”. However, one student’s answer was “freedom”. This
concept is shown in two new picture books and a graphic novel, which demonstrate the
“expansive state of being, slippery with promise”.
The first book, by Mariana Alcántara and María José Ferrada, is called “Swimmers”. It takes the reader in a world where fish pretend that they are Olympic swimmers, and Olympic swimmers pretend they are…fish?
This abstract idea doesn’t have any, “normal” rules, as we can see fish wearing swimsuits and
swimwear with fins and gills on their body.
The second book, called “The Summer of Diving” is by Sara Stridsberg. The book follows a
young girl named Zoe, whose father went inexplicably missing, “evoking the all-too-common
childhood feeling that no one tells you anything”. Later, it is revealed that Zoe’s father is
depressed.
Later, a woman called Sabrina appears, and asks Zoe the famous line: “Shall we swim?”
In the graphic novel “Swim Team”, by Johnnie Christmas, the protagonist Bree must face her
biggest fear: water. After a former swim champion named Etta saves Bree from drowning, she
teaches Bree how to swim. Listening to her stories as they grow closer, Etta’s childhood as a
black swimmer inspires Bree to keep on going.
These three books pave the way for youth to discover the art and joy of swimming, or rather, the “freedom” of it.
ranged from “fear” to “summer” to “fun”. However, one student’s answer was “freedom”. This
concept is shown in two new picture books and a graphic novel, which demonstrate the
“expansive state of being, slippery with promise”.
The first book, by Mariana Alcántara and María José Ferrada, is called “Swimmers”. It takes the reader in a world where fish pretend that they are Olympic swimmers, and Olympic swimmers pretend they are…fish?
This abstract idea doesn’t have any, “normal” rules, as we can see fish wearing swimsuits and
swimwear with fins and gills on their body.
The second book, called “The Summer of Diving” is by Sara Stridsberg. The book follows a
young girl named Zoe, whose father went inexplicably missing, “evoking the all-too-common
childhood feeling that no one tells you anything”. Later, it is revealed that Zoe’s father is
depressed.
Later, a woman called Sabrina appears, and asks Zoe the famous line: “Shall we swim?”
In the graphic novel “Swim Team”, by Johnnie Christmas, the protagonist Bree must face her
biggest fear: water. After a former swim champion named Etta saves Bree from drowning, she
teaches Bree how to swim. Listening to her stories as they grow closer, Etta’s childhood as a
black swimmer inspires Bree to keep on going.
These three books pave the way for youth to discover the art and joy of swimming, or rather, the “freedom” of it.