Splash!: Ethelda Bleibtrey Makes Waves Of Change (Hardcover)

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!

School Library Journal

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.

Booklist

Baddeley’s colorful illustrations create an upbeat tone, and the underwater scenes are the particularly effective. Showing respect for the line between fact and storytelling, the straightforward narrative delivers information about Bleibtrey’s life while designating the occasional fictionalized words or comments with italics or by placement within speech balloons. This picture-book biography celebrates a little-known American athlete.

Kirkus Reviews

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. Readers will love reading about this gutsy woman.