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Trudy's Big Swim: How Gertrude Ederle Swam the English Channel and Took the World by Storm

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Trudy's Big Swim: How Gertrude Ederle Swam the English Channel and Took the World by Storm

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eBook(NOOK Kids)
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Overview

On the morning of August 6, 1926, Gertrude Ederle stood in her bathing suit on the beach at Cape Gris-Nez, France, and faced the churning waves of the English Channel. Twenty-one miles across the perilous waterway, the English coastline beckoned. Lyrical text, stunning illustrations and fascinating back matter put the reader right alongside Ederle in her bid to be the first woman to swim the Channel—and contextualizes her record-smashing victory as a defining moment in sports history. Time line, bibliography, source notes.

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Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780823438266
Publisher:	Holiday House
Publication date:	02/28/2017
Sold by:	Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format:	eBook
Pages:	40
File size:	41 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

Sue Macy has written many critically acclaimed books about sports and fearless women. She lives in Englewood, New Jersey. Visit her at www.suemacy.com.

Matt Collins has illustrated numerous books for children. His art has also appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and Sports Illustrated for Kids. Visit him at www.mattcollins.com.

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Editorial Reviews

02/13/2017
Macy and Collins, the duo behind 2011’s Basketball Belles, pay lively tribute to another feat of female athleticism: American swimmer Gertrude Ederle’s record-setting 1926 swim across the English Channel: “Two hundred people had tried to swim the Channel before. Only five men had made it, and none on their first try.” Collins’s aggressive mixed-media artwork is well-suited to the tension and physicality of Ederle’s swim; in one especially cinematic scene, she’s shown surging through cold, choppy water filled with jellyfish and driftwood, a look of determination evident beneath her red swimming cap and goggles. An afterword dives deeper into Ederle’s story; in a fitting coda, Collins ends with a vignette of the happily exhausted swimmer lounging in a bubble bath at her hotel in Dover, following her victorious arrival on the English shore. Ages 6–10. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

"Macy's riveting narrative is a pleasant balance of storytelling and factual information. Collins brings the story to life with his stunning double-page scenes and mixed-media illustrations"—Booklist

"Macy's immediate, involving text takes breaks only to supply essential backstory . . . Collins's retro-flavored mixed-media art has a you-are-there, camera-like perspective, zooming in at key points along the way;"—The Horn Book

"The dramatic, full-bleed illustrations combine with the evocative text to humanize the event and the heroine. . . . A valuable addition to picture-book biographies of women who made waves in history."—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

02/01/2017
Gr 2–4—Prolific writer Macy has created a visually stunning picture book biography of Olympian Gertrude Ederle's history-making swim across the English Channel in 1926. Collins's Prismacolor pencils on vellum illuminate the hazards of the 21-mile swim: jellyfish, sharks, driftwood, and strong currents, as well as the logistics of eating during the 14-hour endeavor. Two hundred people had previously attempted the swim prior to Ederle, and only 12 had made it, all of whom were men. Ederle was a teenage success story, winning one gold and two bronze medals at the 1924 Olympics. Readers will be enthralled to discover how she kept warm, battled leg cramps, and kept her spirits up and how she actually swam 35 more miles because the current threw her off course. The afterword and author's note are what really make this work stand out from others. This is one of the few titles to mention that Ederle was not in fact a teen at the time of the crossing. She had already turned 20, but saying she was a teenager made her feat even more impressive, so the media ran with it. Ederle's life after the crossing was just as remarkable. She was nearly deaf after age 22, and a back injury hampered her chances of walking or swimming again. But Ederle continued to walk and eventually taught swimming to deaf children, living to the ripe old age of 98. Back matter includes additional context on the politics and culture of the United States in the 1920s. VERDICT A fantastically illustrated account of a groundbreaking event in women's sports history, and a fine addition to biography collections.—Laura Dooley-Taylor, Lake Zurich Middle School North, IL

School Library Journal

2016-12-14
This picture-book biography of the first woman to swim the English Channel makes a big splash. On Aug. 6, 1926, Gertrude Ederle took the world by storm. As a teenager she earned records for swimming sprint distances, and in 1924 she earned one gold and two bronze medals at the Olympics. By 1925 she had set 29 swimming records. Her endurance and determination made the white New Yorker a strong candidate to challenge the English Channel, which she achieved. The focus of the narrative is on the actual event, with details that give depth to the swim and the woman. Since holding onto the boat was not permitted during the attempt, her support team used a net at the end of a long pole to deliver a baby bottle with chicken broth and fried chicken to give her energy while she treaded water. The 21 miles from a beach in France to the English shore took her 14 hours and 39 minutes. The dramatic, full-bleed illustrations combine with the evocative text to humanize the event and the heroine. Especially effective are the perspectives and depiction of water. Impressive research is evident in the author's note, bibliographic essay, and source notes. Endpapers list a timeline of 1920s sports highlights. A valuable addition to picture-book biographies of women who made waves in history. (afterword) (Picture book/biography. 6-9)

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