German / Germany
Freibad. Ein ganzer Sommer unter dem Himmel
(Outdoor swimming pool. A whole summer beneath the sky)
Gmehling, Will
(text)
Wuppertal: Peter Hammer Verlag, [2019]. – 155 p.
ISBN 978-3-7795-0608-9
Summer | Swimming pool | Growing up
Reading age: 8+
White Ravens issue: 2019
Katinka’s plan is to complete 20 laps of the crawl, Robbie is supposed to learn how to swim properly, and Alf wants to jump off the 10-metre diving platform – these are the goals for this summer. Thanks to a free ticket, the Bukowski-children – cheeky and fearless Katinka, contemplative and cautious Alf, and the youngest sibling, quiet and dreamy Robbie – spend every day at the public outdoor swimming pool, no matter whether it rains or the sun blazes down from the sky. A holiday trip is impossible anyway, because the Bukowskis need to scrimp and save. However, at the pool, this unique place smelling of chips, chlorine, and sunscreen, the three siblings challenge their limits and, sometimes quietly as mice, sometimes with great fuss, excel themselves. Alf, who tells the story, is a sensitive observer with a subtle sense of humour and a big heart that gets considerably out of sync during this particular outdoor-pool-summer…