Starred Review for reading aloud. Adler and Widener, who previously combined their talents in books about Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, turn to the distaff side of athletics for their latest subject. In simple, direct prose, Adler introduces Gertrude Ederle, known as Trudy to her friends, and describes her evolution as a swimmer. After Trudy almost drowned as a child, her father taught her to dog-paddle. As she grew older, she found that swimming was her talent, and beginning at age 15, she was winning competitions and breaking records. In 1925 she decided to swim the English Channel. A near miss made her even more determined to try a second time, and in a text that is sure and always interesting, Adler captures the drama of that exhausting, exhilarating record-breaking swim. Widener's durable, strongly physical deep-hued artwork displays the right muscle for the biography. The two-page spread showing Ederle eating a chicken leg while crossing the channel will make kids smile, and the picture of her triumphant emergence from the water captures both the effort and the energy that went into the extraordinary swim. An author's note is appended. (Reviewed March 15, 2000)

Adler's engaging narration smoothly incorporates important episodes in Ederle's life (e.g., the 1924 Olympics and her record-breaking English Channel swim), some background against which to view them, and enough amplification to make them memorable. Widener's painterly acrylics depict a sturdy heroine alone in her quests yet cheered by thousands in her victories. An afterword adds background.

The author and illustrator (The Babe & I , 1999, Lou Gehrig: The Luckiest Man , 1997) team up for a third time in this engaging picture book biography of the first woman to swim the English Channel. Gertrude Ederle, born in 1906, learned to swim at age seven when, after falling into a pond and nearly drowning, her father decided that teaching his daughter to swim was essential. It immediately became apparent that Trudy had a great talent—she won her first big race at 15, swam from lower Manhattan to Sandy Hook, New Jersey at 16 (breaking the men's record along the way), and won three medals at the 1924 Paris Olympics. In 1925, Trudy made her first, albeit unsuccessful, attempt to swim the English Channel and in 1926, on her second attempt, she became the first woman to successfully swim the 20-odd mile body of water. David Adler clearly places this biography in its cultural context, reminding the reader that women and girls were expected to stay at home in this era and were excluded from many activities. Women were deemed the weaker sex and to challenge this notion, especially in the world of sport, took exceptional courage and unusual determination. The stylized illustrations successfully evoke the period of the 1920s. A wide range of beautiful blues, greens, and grays depicts the various forms of water—ocean, pool, pond—and seem thickly applied, deliberately contrasting with the flatness of the human figures. A welcome addition to the growing body of works about female athletes. (Picture book/biography. 59)

"Text and art offer a compelling, in-depth account of the adult Ederle's crossing of the English Channel," said <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">PW. "Kids will dive right in." Ages 6-9. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(July)

K-Gr 4-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. Attractive formatting and large type make this story of achievement as effective and as inspiring to read aloud as this team's Lou Gehrig: The Luckiest Man (1997) and The Babe & I (1999, both Gulliver).-Jean Gaffney, Dayton and Montgomery County Public Library, OH Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.