When looking through the old online reader copy links I found some surprises but others, like Annette Feels Free: The True Story of Annette Kellerman, World-Class Swimmer, Fashion Pioneer, and Real-Life Mermaid was only a small surprise as I like biographies of unknown (or at least mostly unknown) people. And Kellerman is a fairly unknown name today. But that was not the case when she was a swimmer.
Taking Australia by storm, a young teen took to swimming like fish takes to swimming. It did not matter that she wore braces on her legs when she was on land, in the water she would be able to fly, dance and change the world. She would be able to overcome this disability because of her swimming training. Later in England she would create a bigger splash and would even take on the movies. She would also change the way we looked at women’s swimming fashions, to the point she would be arrested for not wearing enough clothes. Katie Mazeika’s story is educational and fun. It is not so much about a woman who was a pioneer for sports, or women’s rights, or even clothing, she was a pioneer for being able to do what she loved without discomfort. She wanted comfort over style when she swam. Though I am sur the suits she helped create were fashionable. The rest was gravy!
The art itself is fairly standard. You have seen it before with other historical biographies that take a modern turn with style, colors and details. Things are not BEST IMAGES EVER but they are delightful and fun to view. They support the text and do not overwhelm, but they also give a boost to things.