Her strawberry-decorated swimsuit hangs invitingly from her wardrobe door, but she scrunches her face up and tells her mother that her stomach hurts. Like Nelly in No Swimming for Nelly (reviewed on page 89), the unnamed little girl here is afraid of the water. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. A great purchase for most collections.-Chelsea Couillard-Smith, Hennepin County Library, MN © Copyright 2018. VERDICT An empowering story of gradually overcoming fear that will resonate with young children. The instructor and classmates are portrayed as a diverse group inclusive of ethnicity and body type.

Yum's watercolor and colored pencil illustrations perfectly capture a young child's expressions, conveying reluctance and nervousness as much through body position as through the text. Slowly, the child becomes more comfortable in the water (a better-fitting swim cap helps), progressing all the way to floating alone like a starfish and having splashing contests with the other children. The next Saturday, the stomachache has returned, but Martha is willing to offer support while the hesitant young protagonist tries 'ice cream scoops.' Finding the warm water soothing, the positive experience is enough to inspire evening paddling practice at home in the bathtub. The child dawdles in the dressing room and spends the lesson on dry ground. Blonde, curly-haired Mom offers reassurances that it will probably go away at the pool, but meeting the friendly instructor, Mary, and seeing the excitement of the other budding swimmers can't drive away the butterflies. The unnamed first-person narrator, a preschooler with straight black hair and a strawberry-printed swimsuit, wakes up with a stomachache on the first day of swimming lessons. The next Saturday the girl has a stomachache again, but with Mary's gentle encouragement, she eventually manages to make it into the pool to practice her kicks.PreS-Gr 2-A young child conquers a fear of swimming in this charming, child-focused picture book. Her swimming instructor, Mary, says it's OK to sit by the edge if she doesn't want to get in the water this week. When she gets to the pool it's loud, the floor is wet and slippery, and her swim cap is too tight. 'Swimming lessons are on Saturdays, and every Saturday one little girl has a stomachache. The illustrations were done in watercolor and colored pencil

Saturday Is Swimming Day by Hyewon Yum