SPLASH!

Splash! One brave girl finds her own power and freedom in swimming—and beyond.

Boxer and Baddeley tell the story of Ethelda Bleibtrey, who survived polio as a teenager to become an accomplished athlete and nurse. After Ethelda is left physically limited by polio in 1917, her doctors suggest swimming as therapy—and it works. Ethelda feels at home in the water, free and mobile…and powerful. Ethelda fights gender inequality by protesting sexist double standards for swimming costumes; she also competes in the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium, where she becomes the first American woman to win a gold medal in swimming. She goes on to live a life of public advocacy and supports children as a nurse. A keystone of her work becomes helping children recover their belief in their bodies through aquatic therapy. Backmatter includes an overview of Ethelda’s life, complete with photographs, and a note from Boxer about fictionalizing thoughts and dialogue. This compelling story makes full use of the illustrations. The blues and greens of the water reflect both depth and movement and the shift in Ethelda’s life from stillness to freedom. The illustrator’s use of line is particularly effective, showing Ethelda moving through water and space. Ethelda was White; people who appear in the book are diverse in terms of skin tone. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Readers will love reading about this gutsy woman.