Simple rhymes and lush illustrations inspired by the sugar plantations of 1930s Maui combine in the lesser-known story of a dedicated science teacher, Soichi Sakamoto, who used innovative techniques to coach his Hawaiian swimming team all the way to the Olympics. Illustrations. - (Baker & Taylor)

Simple rhymes and lush illustrations inspired by the sugar plantations of 1930s Maui combine in the lesser-known story of a dedicated science teacher, Soichi Sakamoto, who used innovative techniques to coach his Hawaiian swimming team all the way to the Olympics​. - (Baker & Taylor)

The inspirational and little-known story of a dedicated teacher who coached Hawaiian swimmers all the way to the Olympics, beautifully told in simple rhyme.

When the children of workers on a 1930s Maui sugar plantation were chased away from playing in the nearby irrigation ditches, local science teacher Soichi Sakamoto had an idea. He offered to take responsibility for the children — and then he began training them how to swim. Using his science background, Sakamoto devised his own innovative coaching techniques: he developed a strict practice regime for the kids, building their strength and endurance by using the ditch water’s natural current. The children worked hard under the dedicated Sakamoto’s guidance, and their skills improved. They formed a swim club and began to dominate in swimming events around the world. And then one day, the proud Sakamoto saw an impossible dream come true — Olympic gold!

In a unique approach that makes for a moving read-aloud, Julie Abery uses limited rhyming text to tell the little-known story of Coach Sakamoto and the Three-Year Swim Club. The stunning art of award-winning and highly acclaimed Chris Sasaki perfectly complements the lyrical storytelling. This inspiring picture book offers excellent lessons in perseverance, believing in yourself and not letting others define you, while wonderfully capturing how one person can make a huge difference in the lives of others. In highlighting the team’s ”bright and loud“ presence at events, with their Hawaiian dress and ukulele, it also encourages children to take pride in their heritage and view it as a strength. An author’s note with photos and more information tell the fuller story of Soichi Sakamoto and his Three-Year Swim Club.

Lyrically told true story of the teacher who coached Hawaiian swimmers to Olympic glory.When the children of workers on a 1930s Maui sugar plantation were chased away from playing in the nearby irrigation ditches, local science teacher Soichi Sakamoto had an idea. He would take responsibility for the children and train them to swim. Using his science background, Sakamoto developed a strict practice regime for the kids, honing their skills and building their strength and endurance. They formed a team and began to dominate events, first nationally and then internationally --- until they made it all the way to Olympic gold!Told in simple rhyme, Sakamoto's story will inspire athletes, coaches --- and everyone who believes impossible dreams can come true. - (Grand Central Pub)

Booklist Reviews

*Starred Review* In the 1930s on the Hawaiian island of Maui, the sugar plantation workers' children were not allowed to swim in its irrigation ditches, but that didn't stop them from trying. After watching young people repeatedly running from the plantation policeman on horseback, Soichi Sakamoto, a Japanese American science teacher, persuaded the company to let him take responsibility for the kids. He became their swimming coach. Growing stronger and faster day by day, they responded enthusiastically to Mr. Sakamoto's innovative training program and high standards. Their team won the 1939 national championship. Because of WWII, the Olympics were cancelled in 1940 and 1944, but at the 1948 Olympic Games, a member of Sakamoto's swim club won two gold medals. It's a heartening story, concisely told in terse verse, with stanzas such as "Run! / Policeman's on his beat. / Children scatter / in the heat." The rhythm drives the momentum of the story, which unfolds over many years but reads very quickly. The informative, appended author's note will be handy for answering children's questions. Rugged, energetic, and purposeful, the digital artwork uses perspective to offer different viewpoints, sometimes putting viewers right down in the irrigation ditch or pool with the swimmers. A vibrant, original picture book. Grades K-3. Copyright 2021 Booklist Reviews.

Horn Book Guide Reviews

When a science teacher in 1930s Maui, Hawaii, notices the sugar plantation police chasing neighborhood children out of irrigation ditches on hot days, he comes up with a plan -- to persuade the sugar company to let the children swim under his guidance. This book provides a brief glimpse into the creativity and perseverance that took these bored kids and a local teacher from an irrigation ditch to Olympic gold. The text is somewhat limited by its form: rhyming couplets split into very short lines. It's a choice that often leaves readers wanting more information -- we read science teacher's / new approach / turns him into / master coach but don't learn anything about that new approach or why it is so successful (the appended note helps fill in some of the text's blanks). The art is where this story comes to life -- Sasaki's (Home Is a Window, rev. 3/19; Paper Son, rev. 11/19) painterly digital illustrations play with perspective and make the water and Hawaiian flora jump off the page. Back matter offers opportunities to learn more about Coach Sakamoto and the swimmers he trained in the Three-Year Swim Club. A brief but compelling introduction to an unlikely sports hero. Copyright 2023 Horn Book Guide Reviews.

Horn Book Magazine Reviews

When a science teacher in 1930s Maui, Hawaii, notices the sugar plantation police chasing neighborhood children out of irrigation ditches on hot days, he comes up with a plan -- to persuade the sugar company to let the children swim under his guidance. This book provides a brief glimpse into the creativity and perseverance that took these bored kids and a local teacher from an irrigation ditch to Olympic gold. The text is somewhat limited by its form: rhyming couplets split into very short lines. It's a choice that often leaves readers wanting more information -- we read "science teacher's / new approach / turns him into / master coach" but don't learn anything about that new approach or why it is so successful (the appended note helps fill in some of the text's blanks). The art is where this story comes to life -- Sasaki's (Home Is a Window, rev. 3/19; Paper Son, rev. 11/19) painterly digital illustrations play with perspective and make the water and Hawaiian flora jump off the page. Back matter offers opportunities to learn more about Coach Sakamoto and the swimmers he trained in the Three-Year Swim Club. A brief but compelling introduction to an unlikely sports hero. Laura Koenig September/October 2021 p.111 Copyright 2021 Horn Book Magazine Reviews.

Kirkus Reviews

A science teacher trains kids who are playing in irrigation ditches how to swim, eventually leading them to the Olympics. In the 1930s, on the Hawaiian island of Maui, migrant workers cut sugar cane, leaving their kids to their own devices. In the hot sun, the kids swim and dive in the irrigation ditches that run through the fields, but the police yell at them and chase them out. When science teacher Soichi Sakamoto sees this, he decides to help the kids. He convinces the authorities to let the kids use the ditch, which he trains them to treat like a swimming lane. Sakamoto creates a daily program for them to follow, making his students swim upstream to make them stronger. Over time a pool is built, and the Three-Year-Swim Club is established with dreams of the Olympics. But war interrupts their dreams until they finally get their chance in the 1948 Olympics. Told in clipped, rhyming verse, this is a quick, simplified account of a lesser-known inspirational story in sports history. Sakamoto and the swimmers' journey to the Olympics exemplifies perseverance and determination. It is an excellent read-aloud, with additional information for adults to give context in the form of an author's note that provides the story again in prose, with more details and additional facts. The illustrations are full of bright colors, befitting the beautiful landscape; both kids and Sakamoto are depicted with brown skin and black hair. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Exudes inspiration and dedication. (sources) (Informational picture book. 5-8) Copyright Kirkus 2021 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.

Publishers Weekly Reviews

"Run!/ Policeman's on his beat/ Children scatter/ in the heat." The children of Hawaiian sugar cane workers swim in irrigation ditches when it gets hot; a school science teacher, Soichi Sakamoto, says he'll supervise the swimmers if the police leave them alone. He sets about forming them into a team and aims for the highest possible goal: the Olympics. The games are canceled due to WWII, but Coach Sakamoto gets to see one of his swimmers take a gold medal in 1948. Abery tells the story in tight, driving verse that doesn't bog down in descriptions. Instead, Sasaki supplies detail in gracefully composed spreads: in one, a split view shows the children's heads above the blue-green water and their bodies below it. Back matter supplies contextualizing information and photographs. Ages 5–8. (May)

School Library Journal Reviews

K-Gr 3—This short, brightly illustrated picture book tells the story of Japanese Hawaiian swim coach Soichi Sakamoto and his swim club's journey to the 1948 London Olympics. After a brief preface, the story opens with children swimming in the irrigation ditches of the sugar plantations in Maui, and Sakamoto offering to coach them, despite being a poor swimmer himself. In a series of iambic quatrains on each page, Abery tells the story sparely with a consistent rhyme that makes it sound and feel like a gentle bedtime story. Sasaki's upbeat and colorful digital illustrations show the action depicted by the words while adding to the story's joyful tone with lush depictions of Maui. For most of the book, this structure works, but it stumbles slightly when covering World War II. An illustration of smoke billowing from ships at sea accompanies the text, "Olympic hopes—/ crushed by war." The following illustration of an empty pool accompanies the lines, "Dawn raids shatter/ peaceful skies./ Athletes answer/ country's cries." Though cleverly rendered, this darker side of the story leaves out context that adults will need to provide for younger readers. An author's note follows the story, featuring a group photo and more detailed information. A brief list of resources concludes the book. VERDICT Despite its brevity, this book is sure to appeal to young readers and is a great contribution to sports history as well as Hawaiian history. A good addition to most children's nonfiction collections.—Erica Ruscio, Ventress Memorial Lib., Marshfield, MA