Gold Medal Swim

Description

Sam is the best swimmer on his school swim team. When Julien a new exchange student at school joins the team near the end of the season Sam offers to help him practice. But when Sam and Julien have to race against each other in the final meet only one swimmer can win the gold...

Passionate comic book artist Eduardo Garcia works from his studio (Red Wolf Studio) in Mexico City with the help of his talented son, Sebastian Inaki. He has brought his talent, pencils, and colors to varied projects for many titles and publishers such as Scooby-Doo (DC Comics), Spiderman Family (Marvel), Flash Gordon (Aberdeen), and Speed Racer (IDW). Who is Jake Maddox? Athlete, author, world-traveler - or all three? He has surfed in Hawaii, scuba-dived in Australia, and climbed the mountains of Peru and Alaska. His books range from the most popular team sports to outdoor activities to survival adventures and even to auto racing. His exploits have inspired numerous writers to walk in his footsteps - literally! Each of his stories is stamped with teamwork, fair play, and a strong sense of self-worth and discipline. Always a team-player, Maddox realizes it takes more than one man (or woman) to create a book good enough for a young reader. He hopes the lessons learned on the court, field, or arena and the champion sprinter pace of his books can motivate kids to become better athletes and lifelong readers.

Gold Medal Swim from the Jake Maddox sports series is a fictional account of competitive swimmers preparing for a freestyle competition. From the illustrations, it appears to be geared for the high school crowd although it is aimed for a younger audience. I give it high marks for its portrait of competitive swimming.-- "The Swimmer Writer blog" The story sends a marvelous message about teamwork rather than just focusing on one's own individual goals.-- "Denton ISD" This series does a nice job of spreading the wealth when it comes to sports fiction. Instead of concentrating on the typical mainstays, the series provides interesting storylines pertaining to some lesser publicized sports. The books are broken down into short chapters with plenty of white space for easy reading. The characters and plots are believable as each story escalates to its satisfactory conclusion. Full-page, b&w illustrations help the characters come to life and provide visual context. This high-interest, low-level series is sure to be a hit with many readers, but expect sports enthusiasts and Matt Christopher fans to be the first in line to get their hands on these books. Additional features include discussion questions, writing prompts, and additional information about each sport. Recommended.-- "Library Media Connection"