At the beginning of the twentieth century, bathing suits for girls were not at all like modern swimsuits. They were more like dresses: their main task was to cover the legs, but it was not at all comfortable to swim in them. This is how most girls dressed on the beach, but not Gertrude Ederle. Her bathing suit was already sporty then, because she was one of the first women - professional swimmers. In 1924, Gertrude won gold at the Olympics, and in 1926 she set a world record by swimming across the English Channel. To tell this - absolutely real - story, the authors came up with a younger cousin named Emily for Gertrude. Like her famous cousin, Emily has been drawn to the water since childhood, but she can't swim yet. Having decided to catch up with her cousin in everything, Emily begins to secretly train. As Gertrude Ederle prepares for the Great Swim across the English Channel, Emily tries to set her own record - on the lake near the house.
Artfully combining text and illustrations, writer Alice Keller and artist Veronica Truttero have created a book that balances between comic book, picture book and short story. Both the story itself and the drawings sustained in the soft colors of an old photograph take the reader to the beginning of the last century to remind him that sometimes "swimming against the current" is the only way to get where you need to go. And doing what you really like is important and fun, no matter what anyone thinks about it.
For elementary school age.
Author: Alice Keller
Pages: 96 (offset). Hard cover
Dimensions: 242x172x16 mm
