America's Champion Swimmer: Gertrude Ederle
by: Adler, David A.

Hardcover. NY, Gulliver Books, 1st, 2000-03-01, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, Illustrated throughout in color by Terry Widener. Light edgewear and rubbing to dust jacket, else a clean, tight copy. This picture-book biography covers the life of Gertrude Ederle, highlighting her world-record breaking, long-distance swims. In 1926, women were thought to be the weaker sex, but this indomitable young athlete broke the men's record by two hours when she swam the English Channel. Fascinating tidbits about her 21-mile swim will entice readers: "She floated on her back and ate chicken and drank beef broth." For her victory, she was rewarded with a ticker-tape parade and a letter from President Coolidge calling her "America's Best Girl." More information about her life is appended. In the acrylic paintings, characters with large bodies and small heads, suggesting Depression-era art, are set on impressionistic backgrounds. The pictures of the swirling, rough water add fluidity and motion, and the perspectives that show the small figure of the swimmer in the vast sea capture the immensity of Ederle's endeavor.