About This Book:
Winner of the Boston Globe-Horn Book Picture Book Award
A reverent celebration of learning to swim among a diverse cast of children and families who each experience the mysterious joys of water in nature.
In this exploration of what it truly means to swim, expansive vignettes introduce sandpipers, tannin-soaked lakes, and the feeling of a small waterfall on sun-soaked shoulders. But what about those who are afraid of the water’s mysterious ways and resist learning to swim? Painting a compelling picture of the many joys and surprises that the water holds, artist and author Jack Wong has delivered an empowering, poetic journey that invites children to discover their confidence within to receive the warmth and wonder of the natural world.
*Review Contributed By Connie Reid, Staff Reviewer*
When You Can Swim
This was a lyrical exploration of all the different places you can go if you know how to swim. The illustrations are inviting and hopeful. It represents many types of swimming from the ocean, to lakes, to the pool. It has a great message that before you can have all the fun that awaits you must first learn to swim. There is a much higher percentage of drownings among people of color compared to their white counterparts so I liked that the illustrations were inclusive and encouraging people from diverse backgrounds to learn how to swim so they too can safely explore the wonders of water.
