SWIM TEAM
Grades 4 and Up
Johnnie Christmas
HarperAlley, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06305-677-1
256 pp.
Summary
After starting a new school in southern Florida, Bree learns that the only physical-education elective that fits into her schedule will require her to face her biggest fear: the swimming pool. With the help of a spunky senior-citizen neighbor and a new group of friends, Bree discovers a new passion. Along the way she learns about the struggles people of color have had to endure in order to compete in a sport where they were not always welcome.
Curriculum Connections
History
Learn about black swimmers in history and their impacts on the sport here.
Research athletes who black athletes who integrated their sports and create an illustrated storyboard project.
Draw a grid containing 64 numbered squares on a large piece of paper and tape it to the floor. Place 25 pennies and 30 paper clips randomly on the grid. The grid represents a neighborhood and the paper clips and pennies symbolize families. Each penny wants to live near -- touching -- at least two other pennies, while each paper clip wants most of its neighbors to be paper clips. Take turns moving pieces. Players will discover that, as they try to make every piece happy, they start to create a pattern of extreme segregation. Discuss how an individual's social race preferences can lead to segregation. (classroom.synonym.com
Language Arts
See this guide for educators for using graphic novels with children and teens.
Science
Walk into almost any indoor swimming pool area and you are met with the unmistakable odor of chlorine. What is it and why does it smell so strong? Why is it used to keep pools clean and germ free? See information here and here.
Math
Discussion Questions
See Swim Team discussion questions here.
Bree asks Ms. Etta to teach her how to swim. Have you ever been scared to try something new? Did you give it a try? Did anyone help you? What happened?
How did you feel about Ms. Etta’s experience when she and her black teammates were not allowed to swim at the same pool as their white peers?
Before Bree learns to swim and joins the swim team, she is anxious about many things in her life and often has negative thoughts that diminish her confidence. What are some things that make you anxious? Do you have any strategies for overcoming these feelings?
How do Bree and her teammates feel when they learn that Keisha is joining the Manatees? What happens to change their minds?
At one point in the story Bree gets so mad that she throws her swim trophy. What is she angry about? What could have been a better way to get rid of her anger?
After the Manatees win the big meet against Holyoke Prep, their coach calls her swimmers “losers.” Should a coach sometimes say unkind things about their athletes in order to motivate them to do better? Do you think this approach works?
Vocabulary
Powerhouse (p. 41)
Medley (p. 41)
Segregated (p. 83)
Conservatory (p. 85)
Treading (p. 97)
Fluke (p. 115)
Pesky (p. 152)
Elite (p. 156)
Endurance (p. 217)
Author Online
Graphic novelist Johnnie Christmas has a BFA in Communication Design/Illustration from the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY. He now lives in Vancouver, British Columbia. Find him on X (Twitter) at @j_xmas, on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
Companion Books
Aniana del Mar Jumps In
Jasminne Mendez (Dial Books, 2023)
Ani loves to swim – though she has to keep her swimming a secret from Mami, who never recovered from losing her brother to drowning. Then Ani develops idiopathic arthritis and has to convince an angry Mami that her disease can be helped by swimming.
Maybe a Mermaid
Josephine Cameron (Square Fish, 2020)
Eleven-year-old Anthoni has spent her life bouncing from place to place as her single mom sells beauty products; now she just wants to settle down and find a True Blue Friend. She has high hopes of the Showboat Resort, owned by the eccentric Charlotte – who just might be a mermaid?
Unsettled
Reem Faruqi (HarperCollins, 2022)
In this novel in verse, Nurah, a 13-year-old immigrant from Pakistan, feels out of place in Georgia until she and her brother Owais discover swimming competitions at the community pool. But soon sibling rivalry gets in the way.
Flip Turns
Catherine Arguelles (North Star Editions, 2022)
Thirteen-year-old Maddie isn’t interested in her classmate Lucas – she just wants to concentrate on her swim team, the Electric Eels. Then someone starts sabotaging her family pool – could it be Lucas? - and Maddie and best friend Ez decide to investigate.
Obie Is Man Enough
Schuyler Bailar (Crown, 2021)
Transgender Obie has had to leave his swim coach, team, and best friends – and now he has to prove himself again on a new team. He’s got back up from his family and Charlie, his first crush, but bullies seem to be everywhere.
Up for Air
Laurie Morrison (Harry N. Abrams, 2021)
Annabelle struggles in school, but she’s a star in the water. She’s thrilled when she’s invited to join the high-school swim team – but some bad choices lead to problems.