The 2016 Rio Olympics are underway! While the athletes are going for gold on the running track, we’re taking it a bit easier and going for gold with a reading marathon. If you’re looking for Olympic-themed reads for kids, we have a few gold-medal picks worth exploring:
Swimming, Swimming by Gary Clement
Drawing on his own memories of the best days of summer in the city, Gary Clement brings us an illustrated version of the beloved classic “Swimming, swimming in a swimming pool,” full of fun and humor.
The illustrations show a young boy and his friends spending a carefree day at the neighborhood pool. We see them walk to the pool together, change into their trunks and then spend hours swimming, cavorting, splashing and diving. The pool is full of moms, dads, other kids and babies, all enjoying a chance to cool off on a hot summer day. The boy returns home, tired but happy, and falls asleep holding onto his goggles in anticipation of another delightful day at the pool.
Includes a short explanation of the hand gestures for the song and a link to a video demonstration.
Jimmy the Greatest! by Jairo Buitrago
Illustrated by Rafael Yockteng
Listed as one of the Best Children’s Books of 2012 by Kirkus, honored with the Horn Book Fanfare, and selected for the School Library Journal’s 100 Magnificent Children’s Books of 2012
Jimmy lives in a small town by the sea where there is just one tiny gym. The owner of the gym suggests that Jimmy start training, and to inspire him, he gives Jimmy a box full of books, as well as newspaper clippings about Muhammad Ali – “The Greatest.” Jimmy is swept with admiration for Ali. He begins to read and run and box like crazy, even though someone at the gym has taken his shoes. And as he does so, he makes a great discovery: you don’t have to leave home to be “the greatest.”
Unlike many stories about emigration, Jairo Buitrago’s simple, profound text is about someone who decides to stay in his small remote town in Latin America. Combined with Rafael Yockteng’s humorous illustrations, this book will be especially appealing to boys and boxing aficionados.
