Swimming Toward a Dream: Yusra Mardini’s Incredible Journey from Refugee to Olympic Swimmer

Using swimming-oriented language, Faruqi details the life of Syrian Olympian Yusra Mardini (b. 1998). In Damascus, Mardini’s father teaches her to swim even before she walks, then becomes her first coach as she competes globally, winning medals and developing faith that training will see her to the Olympics. The swimming pool becomes her sanctuary, until she and her sister have to flee because of bombing. In Enayeh’s stylized watercolor and gouache illustrations, water-focused spreads highlight the two helping to propel a small raft that holds 20 through the Aegean Sea. After landing in a Berlin refugee camp, Mardini receives an invitation to swim on the first Refugee Team at the 2016 Olympics. Peppered with the refrain “one breath at a time,” it’s an intentionally paced look at a harrowing journey’s steps. Back matter includes creators’ notes as well as a timeline and map. Ages 4–8. (Sept.)