Summary
Bree and her dad moved from Brooklyn to Florida. She is excited for her first day in middle school. But Bree is anxious about whether she’ll make friends and fit in. Thankfully, she makes a new friend in their housing complex. When Bree goes to choose her math club elective, it’s fully booked, and she’s crushed to hear that the only elective left is swim 101. At first, Bree avoids getting in the water, but after a near-drowning in her housing complex, an elderly neighbor coaches her to swim.
Theme(s):
Perseverance, Friendship, Kindness
Personal Response
Swim Team is a very engaging graphic novel about swimming. It shows valuable lessons. The illustrations are well done, and the book is filled with many believable moments and powerful parts, including detailed swim coaching scenes. I loved reading about Bree learning to swim and Ms. Etta, who teaches Bree to be patient and to get comfortable in the water. I enjoyed seeing the history of Black people and swimming from Ms. Etta’s story. I liked that it teaches kids about hard work and bravery.
Teaching Ideas
Graphic novels encourage readers to understand the interplay between image, text, and story. Students can identify the formal elements of graphic novels and their relationships. They can learn about the grammar of graphic novels. The Swim Team novel can inspire Creative Writing; we can ask students to craft new endings, develop new characters or dialogues or create a new graphic novel based on their experience. Graphic novels are a great way to fuel your students’ creative writing instincts.
Recommended Reading Level
Grade 05, Grade 06, Grade 07
