When You Can Swim, Jack Wong
When You Can Swim, Jack Wong
List: $6.99 | Sale: $4.90
Club: $3.49

When You Can Swim

Author: Jack Wong

Narrator: Shannon Tyo

Unabridged: 47 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/16/2023

Synopsis

A reverent celebration of learning to swim among a diverse cast of children and families who each experience the mysterious joys of water in nature. In this exploration of what it truly means to swim, expansive vignettes introduce sandpipers, tannin-soaked lakes, and the feeling of a small waterfall on sun-soaked shoulders. But what about those who are afraid of the water's mysterious ways and resist learning to swim? Painting a compelling picture of the many joys and surprises that the water holds, artist and author Jack Wong has delivered an empowering, poetic journey that invites children to discover their confidence within to receive the warmth and wonder of the natural world.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Lisa on August 27, 2023

I loved this book. It was an ideal and meaningful book for me. First of all, the illustrations are gorgeous. Big, bold, colorful, expressive, and perfect for this book. I loved the poetic story of encouraging a child to learn to swim, mostly in nature, but the story does end at a swimming pool for the......more

Goodreads review by Afoma (Reading Middle Grade) on May 08, 2023

EXCELLENT picture book about overcoming the fear of swimming and exploring the beauty of water bodies no matter your race, age, or gender. Stunning illustrations. Just so well done. Read this to get kids amped up about learning to swim!......more

Goodreads review by Peacegal on August 02, 2023

Lovely celebration of swimming and the worlds of possibility that learning to swim can open to us!......more

Goodreads review by Carrie on February 02, 2023

As a former swim teacher and devoted lake swimmer, I can't think of another book that has so perfectly captured the sense of freedom and discovery that can come from swimming. Jack Wong's lyrical language is a delight to read, and he uses color and shadow in extraordinary ways to bring depth and mov......more

Quotes

Praise for When You Can Swim:* "In visually inventive, lovingly finished pastel-and-watercolor spreads and sinuous lines of prose-poetry, debut author-illustrator Wong showcases myriad children encountering the joys of swimming...Such belonging is precisely the triumph that the story envisions, offering swimming's freedoms widely, and imagining the way that swimming can lend a feeling of autonomy and connection." -- Publishers Weekly, starred review* "With endpapers that depict an Asian child gazing uncertainly at their own reflection in a pool, this book offers beginning swimmers both reassurance and compelling promises of adventure and discovery that will ensue "when you can swim."...The title is bound to inspire all swimmers to embrace nature, no matter where they are on their journey." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review* "Jack Wong's BREATHTAKING watery landscapes, strong currents surge beneath rushing waterfalls, and sunlight shimmers on ocean waves and the surface of a river. Text and illustrations merge SEAMLESSLY to illuminate the ways in which swimming animates all the senses, and Wong writes with BEGUILING LYRICISM...Wong's playful perspectives are CAPTIVATING..." -- BookPage, starred review

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