Following up on our beach theme last week, I got all of my swimming books into the library early enough to move on to swimming, leaving boats for next week.
These are all new to me, and all three are adorable, but Don't Be Afraid, Little Pip is my favorite (not surprised, Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman are a great duo).
Don't Be Afraid, Little Pip
Karma Wilson, illustrated by Jane Chapman (Bear books)
ISBN: 9780689859878
Plump and cuddly penguins over colorful but soothing backgrounds of beaches and oceans.
It's time for all young penguins to learn to swim, but Little Pip isn't too thrilled about the deep dark ocean. She'd rather fly, but after taking lessons from several birds, she's still grounded, and her final lesson ends with an accidental plunge into the sea! Once in, she learns that swimming is natural, and swimming in the ocean is much like flying in the air. My only quibble is that I would have liked that metaphor to be a little more metaphorical - "swimming is flying" doesn't work well with literal-minded toddlers.
Two Dogs Swimming
Lynn Reiser
ISBN: 0060086483
Naive art of two curly-haired dogs in a primary-colored world of grass and pond.
Spot and Whistle play together. They are well-matched in their games of chase, fetch, and jump - "sometimes one wins, sometimes the other" - but when they are swimming, Whistle can't figure out why Spot always makes it back to the edge of the pond first. The not-so-secret is that Spot isn't actually swimming - he's walking on the bottom, and not going all the way across the pond. Another accidental plunge, and Spot forgets that he needs to walk with one set of legs, and accidentally starts swimming! Now the games are equally matched no matter where they take place. Very cute, with a little touch of dry humor.
Sergio Makes a Splash
Edel Rodriguez
ISBN: 9780316066167
Part of a series about Sergio the pop-art colored penguin.
Sergio likes soccer, fishies, and water, but he can't swim yet, so he's not too sure about the big field trip to the ocean to learn to swim. Bolstered by helpful classmates and a kind teacher, and a good helping of positive self-talk, Sergio takes the plunge (safely ensconced in snorkel, swimmies, and a life-preserver) and learns that the ocean is not just water, it's LOTS of water (with bonus fishies), and great fun into the bargain! While I like the illustrations and narrative of Little Pip, I have to say that Sergio is a much better choice for modeling behavior - Sergio is the only one who chooses to jump into the water - and also for representation of him encouraging himself despite having "scary" thoughts.
Next week, boats!
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