This book is a true story how the first American women swam the Channel. She broke many US and World records throughout her swimming career and changed the gender standards for sports. ( )

This book is an autobiography about Gertrude Ederle, a champion woman swimmer! The story start out with her first experience in the water and progresses through her advancement in her ability to swim competitively. Trudy set many world records and competed in the U.S. Olympics! Throughout the autobiography it gives examples of Trudy's courage to prove the world that women are no weaker than men!

Heart warming story of success! Beautiful illustrations to pair with a very encouraging/inspiring book about women's rights and journey to prove ourselves worthy of respect across disciplines. The story has innate suspense because of the failed attempt and poor weather so the author had a nice, natural story line to follow. ( )

This informational book describes Gertrude Ederle’s life growing up and her growing love for swimming. She learned to swim at 7 years old when her father tied a rope around her waist and put her in the water. From then on, Ederle continued swimming and winning competitions. She broke world records, even beating the records of men. She soon became a symbol of strength to women.
Medium: acrylic paint

Review:
This biography follows the story of Gertrude Ederle, an American swimmer that broke many record, including being the first women to swim across the English Channel in record-breaking time. Additionally, she was a symbol for women's right in the early 20th century.
Critique:
This book is an excellent biography because the author does an excellent job of pulling the audience in and retelling the story of Gertrude in an intriguing fashion. In addition, the author was able to present overate information while utilizing a narrative, story-telling format.
Use:
1. One way to use this text would be to read it aloud during a unit on either the olympics or on athletes through history. Afterwards, the teacher can facilitate a conversation about contemporary U.S. female swimmers and how Gertrude Ederle paved a way for those swimmers.
2. Another way to use this text would be to look at the characteristics and culture of Olympic swimming in the time Gertrude was alive. Then students can create a comparison chart between the olympics at the beginning of the 20th century, and the swimming in the most recent Olympic games.
Age Appropriateness: Primary, Intermediate, Middle School
Media: Golden Acrylics on Strathmore Bristol board. ( )