The Christmas Swim (Rhyming Verse)

It's almost Christmas, and when the factory closes in the town of Snowville, people are out of work and feeling down. Eleven-year-old Eustace writes a letter to Santa to help the townsfolk by bringning jobs instead of toys. After not hearing from Santa, he begins his own mission to cheer up Snowville with a holiday swim-in the middle of winter!

The Christmas Swim, written by Remo Perini, conceived by Martyn Thrussell, and magnificently illustrated by Danny O'Learly, is a delightfully inventive story of how one boy's selflessness affects all around him. Eustace's father is an inventor and toymaker, but melting the lake is what he wants for Christmas. As his father sets off to go shopping in town on Christmas Eve day, Eustace brainstorms about how to unfreeze the lake and puts his plan into action. Determined, Eustace uses inventive ways to melt the lake's winter ice, and when one idea doesn't work, Eustace is on to the next and the next, making improvements until, at last, the lake's ice begins to melt.

Upon his return from town, Eustace, his dad, and their dof Widget go for a much derved swim in thhe lake. Steam rising up can be seen from town, so some townsfolk came by to check out the fuss and were delighted to see that the lake is not frozen! They jump in to join in the fun, cannonballing and frolicking, and an air of joy permeates the once depressed community. A spontaneous round of Christmas songs emerge from their happy voices.

Eustace and the Christmas Swim will delight young readers in poring over the incredibly detailed and captivating illustrations created by artist Danny O'Leary. Children will enjoy examining each skillfully crafted page to discover objects throughout. Eustace and the Christmas Swim is a book that families and educators of young children can turn to again and again with renewed fascination.