Is your child ready to dive into swimming? Here are children’s books about swimming, perfect whether your child is excited or scared to swim.
Swimming had been a hit or miss with my kids. We could go from one week of splashing and making bubbles in the pool to outright fear of dipping their toes in the water. My eldest had been more willing to splash around and play, but still hesitated letting go of the sides of the pool.
How can you ease kids into the idea of swimming?
As they grew older and had more opportunities to swim, splashing in the water felt more familiar. I enrolled them in swim lessons one summer, but found that the best way to develop their confidence was to simply spend more time in the pool.
Besides swimming whenever I get the chance, reading children’s books about swimming was one of the best ways to introduce this sometimes overwhelming experience.
Through books, kids learn they’re not alone in their fears and trepidation. They can follow along as a character goes from hesitant to confident and willing to try. And they realize that swimming can be a fun experience.
Below are my recommendations for children’s books about swimming that do just that:
Children’s books about swimming
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My First Swim Class by Alyssa Satin Capucilli
1, 2, 3, Jump! by Lisl H. Detlefsen
Saturday Is Swimming Day by Hyewon Yum
Stewie the Duck Learns to Swim by Kim and Stew Leonard, Jr. and Dr. Lawrence E. Shapiro
Be Brave, Little Penguin by Giles Andreae
Maisy Learns to Swim by Lucy Cousins
Brownie & Pearl Take a Dip by Cynthia Rylant
How to Train with a T. Rex and Win 8 Gold Medals by Alan Abrahamson
Caillou Learns to Swim by Sarah Margaret Johanson
Nathan Saves Summer by Gerry Renert
Froggy Learns to Swim by Jonathan London
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Did your little ones take to swimming right away, scared from the start or was it a hit or miss? What do you do to help ease them into swimming? Have you read these children’s books about swimming? Share your thoughts in the comments!
My kids love the pool! We love the puddle jumper swim vests – they allow kids to stay afloat but they can move freely. Even 23mo Anna can swim around in one!
Your book picks sound great!
My eldest has that too too! Yes I agree it’s easy enough to float while still having some movement.
I didn’t even know about these books! My grandchildren all think they are fish. The oldest (5) can’t figure out why we don’t just let her go into the deep end by herself. LOL. Oddly, my kids weren’t really like that.
Aw how cute! That’s pretty cool that she’s brave about that!
This is so timely because our five-year-old does not know how to swim, no thanks to us, and we’ve been going to a water park with her a lot lately.
It’s putting the spark in her mind.
Every little bit helps Tamara! I don’t think I’ve ever taken my kids to a water park. That’d be a great idea.
These books are great! My kids love the water. As in, I have to keep my 14 month old from crawling over his head straight into Lake Michigan. My four year old is very comfortable in the water – as long as she has her floaties on. I’d like her to learn to swim soon so maybe one of these books could help. I could teach her myself but we’ll see if she’s willing to learn from me or not…
Oh wow, so different from my kids. Not that they’re scared, but they definitely don’t run towards the water without fear haha.
Thanks for the book recs because we are taking our 4 yr old to swim lessons but he doesn’t want anything part of his head or face touching the water! I don’t want to upset him and thus he fears the water, so I hope some of these can help.
Haha how funny about his face/head! Don’t they all have their weird things? I think you’re doing well for not making an issue out of it and letting it be.
Books are a great way to reinforce anything – though for all the books we have about so many different subjects, I never thought about getting a book about swimming! Our oldest is seriously afraid of swimming. Our first day on vacation this year had me in the pool by myself with both kids holding on to me for dear life. Not fun. It might be harsh, but I instituted a “one finger” rule with our oldest. She had swimmies on and needed to learn to trust them, so I only let her hold on to one of my fingers. After a couple days she was much more comfortable. Nonetheless, we’re looking into swim classes to help. Keep up the great work!
Haha Leslie I think I inadvertently do something similar as your one-finger rule. I usually have a baby in a floating device, so I tell my eldest that he has to hold on to the edges of the pool and not me because it weighs me and the baby down. And truthfully he’s fine, and even fine without holding on to the edges, which helps to push them out of their comfort zone a bit!
I haven’t considered swimming classes but do want to get my kids in the water whenever we can.
I am trying to find a book for a 9yr. girl who was afraid of all outdoor sports and, this past year tried swimming and, has become a natural. I would like a book about the rewards of doing your best at swimming, and basically a book she would really feel good about her talent she just found.
Thank You,
Jill Weaver
Hi Jill, Check out Trudy’s Big Swim by Sue Macy (affiliate link): https://amzn.to/37Vbg85 It’ll hopefully inspire her.