ALL I WANT TO DO IS SWIM

What would it be like to swim among water creatures?

The brown-skinned young narrator of this story has taken swimming lessons, “but they just aren’t any fun. / We swim back and forth the whole time— / I’m always glad when we are done.” As the child sits on the edge of a lakeside dock, tentatively dipping toes into the water, watching turtles and fish, the little one wonders: “Could I swim like them?” The answer is a triumphant yes as the child leaps in, following the turtle, then a duck, mimicking their motions. The youngster imagines—and imitates—other animals, depicted as translucent white figures: a hippo, a penguin, a dolphin, and a frog. With arms outstretched, the youngster moves among them, flying to the surface, flipping and jumping, feet kicking. By story’s end, the child has learned to love swimming: “In a pond / or in the ocean, / in a pool that’s in the gym. // In the winter, in the summer, // all I want to do is swim!” Singer relates this simple tale in verse, generally relying on a gentle ABCB rhyme and centering the child’s thoughts and fantasies. In Uribe’s artwork, the water is the center of the action—a lovely blue-green lake, sparkling, and glowing with sunlight, and apparently part of a family property. The young protagonist’s every movement is imbued with emotion; readers will be charmed.

Tender and uplifting.