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johnnymacaroni's review
5.0
Not many people know of Annette Kellerman, myself included, but she used to be a household name. Her story, depicted here with the spirit and funk that seemed to define Annette, is incredibly inspiring and a lot of fun to read. I also enjoyed the little surprise of reading about her visit to Boston to swim at Revere Beach. I swam and played at that beach countless times as a little girl. The illustrations also capture Annette's personality...bright, colorful, bold and cheerful.
kristenremenar's review
5.0
I love Edwin Fotheringham's illustrations and page layout - they always pull me right into the book. This is a great, easy, interesting bio about a little-known (today) woman in history. Good for girls to know that because of women like Annette Kellerman, we have more freedom in what we do and wear than we did 100 years ago.
sorman0110's review
5.0
I really loved this story of Annette Kellerman who could not walk as a child but became a strong swimmer and played a prominent role in the history of the swimsuit. The illustrations are cool, and I especially liked the last page where it shows the evolution of swimsuits over the years. C. 2009, genre-informational
babayagareads's review
5.0
Empowering! This is a little known story about a truly influential figure. It was perfect from start to finish. And as I always say, don't skip that author's note (it's so informative)!
readingthroughtheages's review
5.0
Great biography about Annette Kellerman, the Australian who invented water ballet and the modern swim suit. Loved her feistiness!
abigailbat's review
5.0
Vivid colors splash across the page in this picture book biography of Annette Kellerman, the Australian swimmer who invented water ballet and shocked audiences with her "skimpy" (for the times) bathing suits. Annette's vivacious personality comes across on every page as she becomes a record-breaking swimmer, advocates for female athletes, and designs new non-restrictive bathing suits for women. This is a great story of a woman who was not afraid to follow her dreams or fight for what she believed in!
thewinnielife's review
4.0
I randomly found and picked this book up from my library to discover that it's illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham, who also did What to Do About Alice, one of my favorite picture books! I had never heard of Annette Kellerman, but it was very interesting to learn more about her. Water ballet is so fascinating to me and Annette was a big part of inventing it.
jembrickner's review
4.0
Wonderful true story of a woman overcoming physical challenges to exceed the world's expectations, while breaking past social barriers of her time.
toad_maiden's review
2.0
I had higher hopes for this one. The illustrations were not to my taste--the pixelated quality looked to me like poor printing. In addition, there was something really lacking in the message here. Each time Kellerman bumped up against public mores, she ended up compromising to meet expectations (adding stockings and skirts to her swimsuits, for instance). It did make me want to track down a '20s-style swimsuit, though...