Swim Team by Johnnie Christmas
Published by HarperAlley on May 17, 2022
ISBN: 0063056771
Pages: 256
Genres: Historical Fiction, Sports
Format: Graphic Novel
Goodreads

Christmas offers middle grade readers his first graphic novel. His characters come alive expressing their passion for swimming. This is the story of a middle grade girl who moves with her father to Florida only to find that her only school elective choice is swimming. The action starts almost immediately and the story line follows history more accurately than readers would guess. While we learn that Ms. Etta was a young swimmer and is capable of coaching, there is much more to learn about this woman. Etta learns to swim, bonds with most of her teammates and grows to love the challenge while her father shrinks away from attending meets. Dad’s reluctance to attend swim meets makes for a tantalizing mystery. The full-color illustrations in this graphic novel are superior to most, the interactions are shown in both words and action. Accurate history of racial repression is revealed on many pages where puzzle pieces are drawn over the illustration. Readers will enjoy an inspiring story line, view engaging graphics, and learn some American history while reading this winning graphic novel. A compelling positive message is that team members should support each other while having fun.

The biggest problem with the narrative is that credit is not given to Enith Brigitha, an Olympic swimmer from the Netherlands. The character of Ms. Etta is inspired by Brigitha, who was the first black person to medal as an Olympic swimmer. Her story is easily found online but could have been included in the back pages of this book. Definitely add to middle school library collections where swimming pools exist on campus and to public libraries everywhere. This piece of historic fiction in graphic form is sure to please readers from grade 3-8.

Reviewed by Jan Hamilton, retired Youth Services Librarian