Splash!: Ethelda Bleibtrey Makes Waves of Change

A powerful picture book biography of the first American woman to win Olympic gold in swimming.

Ethelda Bleibtrey was a girl with guts who loved the water. As a child with polio in the early 1900s, swimming set her free. The water released her from her pain and helped her build strong muscles—and a powerful spirit. "At rest and at peace with the world," is how she described her time in the water. From that place of peace, Ethelda began to find he...