Splash!: Ethelda Bleibtrey Makes Waves of Change

by Elisa Boxer, Elizabeth Baddeley (Illustrator)

Overview

Ethelda Bleibtrey was a girl with guts who loved the water. As a child with polio in the early 1900s, swimming set her free. The water released her from her pain and helped her build strong muscle—and a powerful spirit. From then on, from the New York beaches to the choppy waters of the 1920 Olympics to the Central Park Reservoir, Ethelda made a splash wherever she went. For Ethelda, doing the right thing sometimes came with a price—change often does—but Ethelda helped make the world better than how she found it. Splash!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781534111431
Publisher:	Sleeping Bear Press
Publication date:	08/15/2022
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.00(w) x 11.00(h) x (d)
Lexile:	570L (what's this?)
Age Range:	7 - 8 Years

Editorial Reviews

10/03/2022

Narrating via historical vignettes, Boxer pays homage to the grit of decorated female swimmer Ethelda Bleibtrey (1902–1978). The story begins in 1917 Brooklyn with a view of the protagonist, “spine curved from a disease called polio,” taking to the water per a doctor’s recommendation. Other episodes include her 1919 arrest for removing her swimming socks (typical attire of the day for women); her gold-medal-winning swims at the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp; an illicit dive into the Central Park Reservoir, which prompted the creation of N.Y.C.’s first large public pool; and pictures of the figure as a nurse, helping children “believe in their bodies” through swimming. While little time is spent on her path to the Olympics, a repeated refrain ties everything together: “It felt like flying./ It felt like freedom./ It felt like home.” Baddeley layers washes of color for an immersive effect that aptly captures the feeling of being underwater. An author’s note concludes. Ages 7–8. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

08/01/2022

Gr 2–4—This inspirational picture book biography shares the life journey of the Olympic swimming gold medalist and polio survivor who challenged social norms and fought for equality for women. In 1917, Ethelda Bleibtrey was a teenage girl with polio growing up in New York City, feeling exhaustive pain and weakness in her arms and legs. Doctor-recommended swimming gave her an exhilarating sense of freedom that she had never known. As she grew older, swimming became the means through which Bleibtrey pursued issues surround women's equality. She thought it was unfair that women had to swim with knee socks while men swam with bare legs, so she followed suit and was arrested for it. As the news spread, women began to remove their own socks, and eventually the police gave up trying to keep track of infractions of the antiquated rule. Bleibtrey then built a career in competitive swimming and blew through previous records. Baddeley's artwork fuels the narrative and gives structure to the book, depicting a woman with fierce determination and pluck; the art impressively interprets water as expressive, using its dynamism and reflective qualities almost as another character to expand what readers know about Bleibtrey herself. VERDICT With illustrations and text fully grounded in research, including welcome historical details and photographs that appear in the back matter, this book is heartily recommended for elementary nonfiction collections.—Lauren Younger

School Library Journal

2022-05-25
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. (Picture-book biography. 6-10)

Kirkus Reviews