An amazing story about a Maui swim team that made it to the olympics. Their coach believed in them and in himself. He dedicated his life to Hawaiian children and coached them to the olympics. A really inspiring childrens story about a piece of history of sports that alot of people probably don't know.

I like books like this one, that take a person or group from history and break down their contribution into a story for young readers. This is obviously quite simplified, I'm certain a great deal of cruelty glossed over, in order to convey a message about sportsmanship and the value of effort. Books like this introduce an idea to a young child that they may explore in more depth later in life.

I always dream of parents reading books that pair up with what their children are reading. Well, this picture book retells the story of The Three-Year Swim Club: The Untold Story of Maui's Sugar Ditch Kids and Their Quest for Olympic Glory.

Non-fiction. Swim club. Picture Book.

Did they write this book for me?! Because it's sounding like it's perfectly up my alleyway.

Little known fact in the book world, I used to be a highly competitive swimmer. It was most of my life and then I eventually retired due to extreme bullying in the sport from coaches and fellow swimmers. I still have a love for swimming though and have kept active in that community. I LOVE hearing stories about swim teams and swimming, because it's a big part of my life. So, naturally, this book is perfect for me.

I had already read a book on The Three Year Swim Club (large, non-fiction, chapter book) so I had some background for this story. Seeing a picture book version made me so happy! The picture book is an incredible way to tell this story, and it's one of the best mediums. There's also a rhyming scheme to make it feel kind of sing-songy. I truly think this is a mesmerizing must read for non-fiction fans wanting to learn a story they probably hadn't heard before.

Plus the illustrations are just perfect. I love the colours and style! It vibes well with this story.

Not gonna lie, I really want a physical copy of this to put it on my shelf and eventually read to my (future) children and family's children.

Five out of five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kids Can Press for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

I love it when a picture book teaches me about someone new. This book was fantastic. We learn about Mr. Sakamoto and the swim club he started with the aim of making the Olympics. Not only is the story fantastic and told in a brilliant way, the illustrations are so lush and vibrant it is hard to pick a favorite. All libraries should be adding this book to their collection.

The title is such a spoiler! Make believe that the ending is not known and encourage a child you know to read about this team’s success. It was unlikely and led by the estimable Sakamoto who barely knew how to swim himself. The illustrations in this title are just beautiful as is the rhyming text. I recommend this one highly.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title. All opinions are my own.

Lively, lush illustrations and informative history in the back matter are appreciated, but this story is hard to capture in verse using so little text.

A beautifully illustrated and captivating story of a science teacher who taught a group of young Hawaiin children the skills and techniques of swimming. It is a simple story without a lot of detail. Good for very young kids reading nonfiction for the first time. The author appropriately touches on difficult topics like the clash between culture and business and how WWII impacted all people and not just those men and women in the middle of battles.

This would be a good addition for libraries that have a little extra budget to spend and a strong non-fiction readership.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for sending me a digital copy to review in exchange for an honest review.

Sakamoto's Swim Club by Julie Abery and illustrated by Chris Sasaki is a colourful picture book retelling the true story of Soichi Sakamoto. Local teacher Sakamoto begins teaching kids in Maui, Hawaii to swim in the nearby ditch in the 1930s. Eventually, his team worked their way from upstream swims to an actual pool and one member even makes it to the Olympics!

Sasaki's work has some beautiful background colour choices, and he seems to create full and lived in environments easily with sharp lines and soft shapes.

Abery has also included a couple of pages at the end for adults to teach children about these events within context - eg the club stopped for a while due to WWII as members left to fight and barriers the kids overcame.

Rating - 3 stars. Beautiful artwork and a rhyming introduction to something I'd never heard about.

With few, poetic words and lovely illustrations, this book reveals a little known tale from history in a way that will inspire even younger listeners.

While the plantation workers in Hawaii work hard under the sun, their children swim in the irrigation ditches. At least, until the officers come and chase them away. A science teacher, Sakamoto, steps in and makes a deal, where he watches he kids, and they're allowed to swim in the ditches. When the corporation builds a pool, Sakamoto's dreams mount with the founding a club with his swimmers. And from there, they chase an Olympic dream.

Often times, picture books based on historic events can be a bit on the heavy side when it comes to text and information. This book is not. I was very surprised to find that the author manages to build the scenes, create the story, and draw listeners in by using a poetic and very short text. Instead, the illustrations flow right along with the general story to allow the culture, situations, and emotions to come across. And it's just what this age group needs and will understand.

Then, for those who do want to dive deeper into the historical events, there's a longer summary at the end.

In other words, it's a wonderful dive into history, offers an insight into another culture, inspires listeners to reach for their own dreams, and is enjoyable to read/listen to as well.

I received an ARC and found this to be such a wonderful read!

Wonderful story. Made me learna more about Sakamoto's trainign emthod. He believed in interval training as well as land training for swimmers. He made the swimmers swim upstream all as a science teacher. vry inspiring. Powerful illustrations.

I had higher expectations for this book. The story sounded so interesting, but I found the execution to be lacking. I think the poetic style really held back the story-telling. I wanted more details, but the author limited themselves by only using verse to explain what happened. I just wanted more.

Told in poetic way, the story of a science teacher who coached swim, even though he's no expert himself. Swimming club who practiced in a ditch, not even a swimming pool. But these will that brought them to the olympiade even though hindered by world war.

Even though recounted in not so many words, his story inspired so many people, and some like me hadn't known him before. What a struggle and prize he got.

The illustrations, even if they were painted, made you feel like you were swimming with the team. This is an underdog book where you want to cheer for all of them. You are hoping that they do make it to the Olympics and all that happens in-between. I think that this would be a good classroom read aloud or one to keep this in their classroom library.

Sakamato's belief in the vulnerable children of Maui is inspirational and it is a story of hope. The illustrations tell the story in a vivid way. I appreciated the actual photo at the end of the team and Mr. Sakamoto. A great book to add to any library.

A special thank you to Kids Can Press and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

Sakamoto's Swim Club

I just finished the picturebook Sakamoto's Swim Club by Julie Abery #@juliedawnabery and Chris Sasaki told in rhyme with interesting vocabulary (toil, poised) and phrases (tensions knock at Europe's door) inspired by a science teacher from Maui and the children he trained to be Olympic swimmers. After witnessing them swim in the sugar plantation irrigation ditches, he applied his knowledge of science and passion to lead the children into a swim team that inspired the world. A true story I had no knowledge of. What a beautiful example of perseverance, dedication, and dreaming big. Access and opportunity to learn how to swim requires some resources not always attainable. The dream to swim might begin running through a sprinkler in one's front yard, splashing through a city fire hydrant, or a swimming the current in a ditch surrounded by sugar cane and migrant workers.

This book is appropriate for readers K-8. A model for a strong setting lead

Valley Isle.

Lush terrain.

Migrant Workers

cutting cane.

Weave into Social Studies, Habits of Work, Athletes, Sports, and Hawaii learning. The illustrations are gorgeous. The colors, the details, the perspective of the characters and their views shown. Full bleeds and vignettes weave throughout in a fluent yet flexible manner. From the placement of the text, colors applied, the movement the lines offer, each page allows for a pause.

I like the idea of gathering text sets of many children's books with global and multicultural narratives about the same sport. Swimming is a sport I have begun to gather, and this gem, Sakamoto's Swim Club is one I will be adding to the text set-serving as a informational picturebook among the fiction favorites and diverse company of Get Set! Swim! by Jeannine Atkins & Hector Viveros Lee, Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall, Saturday is Swimming Day by Hyewon Yum and Julian Is a Mermaid by Jessica Love.

This little known story has been brought to life with Julie’s brilliant choice of verse, and the absolutely fantastic illustrations by Chris Sasaki.
Set in the WWll, one science teacher, with little experience or knowledge of swimming himself, sets out to help train the local kids and lead them to success.
I’m hopeful Julie considers writing more forgotten stories.

Thank you to Netgalley for my eARC.

I can say that this book is peculiar, without a doubt, its art is very different, at first it leaves you wondering if the style is pleasant or not, but it fits the story, the composition was fine, but what I felt was missing was the "text" the type and the arrangement of it, that is to say, having such a peculiar art to be able to tell the story I hoped it would combine with the text (typography) of the same, but it was not like that, without a doubt an inspiring story.

A long-forgotten story from the WWII era makes it back to prominence with this book.
Sakamoto, the Japanese-American science teacher, with absolutely no knowledge of swimming, still ends up coaching the local plantation workers' children and led many of them towards international medals. Such a unbelievable story!
I loved how the book told the whole story twice, once in simply rhythmic format and once in prose. It appeals to both children and adults. The illustrations are really good too. Thank you for this children's version of Coach Sakamoto's story.

This was a nicely written book that was written using couplets. I liked how the pictures told part of the story as well. The history in the back of the book made the story make more sense. I would like to use this with students as an example of how a historical moment or biography could be written as a poem.