The Boy Who Wouldn't Swim

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The Boy Who Wouldn't Swim (eBook) Pub. Date: 4/29/2008 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
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The Boy Who Wouldn't Swim Pub. Date: 4/29/2008 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

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Overview

Electric, sherbet-y colors, uniquely comic characters, and a story line filled with high comedy mark this fabulous picture book by new talent Deb Lucke. Eric Dooley just won’t swim. If sweating in the hot summer sun while everyone else cools off in the pool isn’t bad enough, Eric’s younger sister is having the time of her life. When he sees her dog-paddling right across the middle of the pool, under his sunblock he’s positively green with envy. Not to mention sweaty. And irritated. But after the babies in the wading pool give him dirty looks for invading their territory, Eric finds a way to conquer his fears. And just like that he goes from being the boy who wouldn’t swim . . . to being the boy who won’t get out of the pool. Not even in October.

Editorial Reviews

Children's Literature

"It was so hot that summer that the whole town practically lived in the pool… There wasn't a person in Clermont County who didn't have prune toes. Except Eric Dooley." From the inside cover of this book, sun-splashed in bright, hazy-wavy yellow with a buff, flat-topped lifeguard keeping watch, it literally swims along with fun action and sharp wit. Even the copyright information is sprawled across the deck of the pool as if it is waiting to take the plunge. It is obvious that the author, Lucke, has taken advantage of her time as vice president of an international advertising agency to perfect her craft, with creative layout matching the sharp, fluent text. As the story unfolds, the text actually swims along with the characters, notably Eric Dooley and his sister. While Eric is afraid of taking the plunge, his sister, Jessica, is a natural. Despite Eric's best attempts to sabotage their summer fun, yelling everything from "Tsunami!" to "Baby pee!" Jessica continues to progress as the rest of the neighborhood splashes along. Adding to the fun are the crafty transitions used to move the narrative forward in artful strokes. Each time Eric gets a timeout for his antics, a month or so passes and Jessica learns something new. While Eric's eventual conversion to water bug comes too abruptly and easily, it sets the story up for his ultimate refusal to leave the pool in the face of the changing seasons and new school year. In the end, that poor lifeguard, who started with nothing but shades, a suit, and some caked-on nose sunblock, is forced to don a parka and boots. This final picture, backed with a chilly, muted blue, resides on the inside of the back cover and serves to skillfully bring180-degree closure. After spending some time with this book, baked in its sunny illustrations and bobbing in its buoyant text, you'll have prune toes too. Reviewer: Paul Walter

School Library Journal

K-Gr 2

Eric absolutely will not go in the water. Instead, he stays on the pool sidelines, sweltering, with his giraffe float firmly around his waist. When his younger sister takes the plunge, Eric fumes. But rather than showing her that he can do it, too, he pesters her from the safety of the pool deck. Toward summer's end, he finally decides it's time to put his toe in the water, and he goes "from being the boy who wouldn't swim to being the boy who wouldn't get out of the pool"-even after the weather turns. Perfectly bookended with endpapers featuring the lifeguard sitting in his chair at the beginning of the season and then poised in the same position but wearing winter gear at the end, this fear-of-swimming tale is ideal for kids who are afraid to take that first step. While there is no reason given for Eric's change of heart, readers who share his phobia will just be glad he did it. Hot summer yellows and cool watery blues abound in the gouache illustrations, which are filled with action and humor. This tale is just the thing for librarians interested in showcasing summer stories.-Joan Kindig, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA

More Reviews (1) Fewer Reviews

Kirkus Reviews

One hot summer an aquaphobic boy refuses to learn how to swim while his younger sister takes to the water like a fish. It's so hot everyone except Eric Dooley has "prune toes" from standing in the pool. Eric's family and neighbors cajole him to get into the pool, but he adamantly refuses. Even when his sister Jessica gets the swimming lessons meant for him, Eric's fear eclipses his jealousy. When Jessica swims across the deepest part of the pool, Eric feigns indifference, but under his sun block he's "green with envy." While Eric freckles and swelters poolside, Jessica dives like a porpoise. But after a quick wade in the baby pool to cool his ankles, a transformed Eric realizes he's no baby and takes that important first step into the big pool. Humorous gouache illustrations zero in on the unhappy Eric baking in isolation beside an azure pool packed with people. A perfect remedy for kids fighting fears-especially those afraid to tackle the deep end. (Picture book. 4-8)

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780618914845
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date: 4/29/2008
Pages: 31
Sales rank: 870,888
Age range: 4 - 8 Years
Product dimensions: 10.10 (w) x 10.00 (h) x 0.50 (d)

Meet the Author

Deb Lucke is the author-illustrator of Sneezenesia, The Boy Who Wouldn't Swim and other books, and lives in upstate New York. Visit her at www.deblucke.com.

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Anonymous

Posted October 27, 2011

Shoud ibuy it

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nookwormAO

Posted February 11, 2011

DO NOT BUY!

This is by far the worst formated nookbook I have purchased. The pages and words don't lineup at all, it is vertical instead of landscaped like most kids books leaving a huge blank space on the bottom. Why make it available on nook if you aren't going to bother to format It? And it suggested to me by B&N! This is why they need to have a return policy for nookbooks.
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