SWIMMING IN GRANDPA'S POOL
Vera, Chuck, and Davie are excited to go swimming in Grandpa’s pool. It’s a fun time for the entire family. They swim for pool toys, play Marco Polo, and Vera overcomes her fear of diving off the diving board. It’s also a time to remember Grandma who taught their Mom to swim, so their Mom would teach them to swim, and someday they will teach their kids to swim.
Reading to the Grandchildren
This is a video clip of my three grandchildren hearing their mom reading my children's picture book to them for the first time.
ABOUT JERRY
How did a retired business-to-business marketing professional decide to write a children’s picture book when he turned 68? I’ll tell you a little about myself to answer that question.
During the summer of 2020, I had an idea: Why not publish a children's picture book about three grandkids swimming in Grandfather's pool? They say you should write about what you know. Well, I'm a grandpa with three grandkids- Trenton, Ginny, and Kira - and a backyard pool. Because of the pandemic shutdowns I wasn’t getting out much. The only fun I was having was swimming with my grandkids.
In addition, I wanted to write the story as a memorial to my wife, Nancy, who had passed away in March 2017 from colon cancer. She loved to swim with her children and grandchildren. I met Nancy at Cornell College when we were freshmen. I was an Iowa farm boy and she was a suburban girl from Edina, MN. We were married in 1975 and moved to Minneapolis in 1977 to be closer to her family.
She was diagnosed with cancer in April 2013. We moved to a house with a pool in June 2014 so she could maximize her time with her grandchildren. She had three wonderful summers swimming with two and then three grandkids.
My story has a happy ending. I married Suzanne Perry in August 2021 so my grandkids have a new grandmother to swim with.
I hope you will enjoy reading my book and enjoy swimming with your family.
TESTIMONIALS
2022 Finalist in the National Indie Excellence Awards in the Picture Books: Preschool category
National Indie Excellence Awards is proud to be a champion of self-publishing and small independent presses going the extra mile to produce books of excellence in every aspect
Recipient of the Prestigious Gold-Level Mom’s Choice Awards on November 30, 2021.
The Mom's Choice Awards Honoring Excellence seal is widely recognized as the symbol representing the best in family-friendly media, products, and services.
I gravitate to books with hard topics and deep lessons. I was attracted to this book because it contains none of that. And, on a second level, it mirrors my own family’s racial makeup. Swimming in Grandpa’s Pool is a delightful story about exactly what the title says: swimming in Grandpa’s pool. A girl goes with her family to visit her grandpa. They spend the day in the pool playing Marco Polo, enjoying each other’s company, and she attempts her first dive. It has an overarching theme of love and family. This book brings back memories of swimming as a child and is also a reminder that books without profound themes still have a place on the bookshelf.
https://raisingalegacy.com/bookshelf/
This is a delightful children's book written by a grandpa about having his grandchildren over to swim in his backyard pool. I've already read this to my 3yr old grandson at naptime and he was mesmerized by it! Then at bedtime he requested it again! It's a well-written book that children can easily understand and relate to. It is also beautifully illustrated. I can't wait to share it with our 6 yr old granddaughter when we see her soon. She might even be able to read it to me soon. Thank you, Jerry Gale for this great book. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your work in the future!
Norma DeJong, Independence, IA
(AKA First Person to provide a 5-Star Amazon Review)
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