Recommendations:

 

Swimmy was featured in H.W. Wilson’s Children’s Core Collection as Most Highly Recommended in the 1966 issue and has been featured as Best Book in the issues from 1971-2006.  The Children’s Core Collection is one of the most widely used resources for librarians looking for a guide highlighting the best fiction for youth aged preschool through sixth grade. [i]  Swimmy is a 1964 Caldecott Honor Award recipient[ii], a 1963 New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Book of the Year Winner, featured in the 1963 ALSC American Library Association’s Notable Children’s Books List, and claims a spot in the 2007 Educators’ Top 100 Children’s Books[iii]

 

Initial Commentary:

 

The popularity of Lionni’s other books written prior to Swimmy, specifically, Little Blue and Little Yellow (1959) and Inch by Inch (1960).  Inch by Inch holds a Caldecott Honor Award [i] , automatically garnering recognition to future Lionni books.  Lionni also maintains the same artistic style throughout his first three books, including collage and watercolor influences combined with simple, easy to imitate pictures.  Lavinia Russ from The New York Times Book Review commented, “Leo Lionni is a rare writer and illustrator.  His “Little Blue and Little Yellow” and “Inch by Inch” are glowing proofs of that.” There were no negative reviews, but Alice Daigliesh from The Saturday Review did note that, “The techniques used are exciting to artists and may be interesting to children though a trifle confusing at times.”  There is a repetitive nod to specifically “artistic” children appreciating the artwork.  From P. H. A., “…the pictures will evoke continuing awe from artistic, perceptive children.”[iv]  Although decidedly beautiful, the emphasis on “artistic” children enjoying and understanding this book more than others could be taken as backlash to those whose children are not interested in art.  The Horn Book Review praised the artwork, but mentioned the lack of length, “To illustrate his clever, but very brief story, Leo Lionni has made a book of astonishingly beautiful pictures, full of undulating, watery nuances of shape, pattern, and color.”

 

Retrospective Commentary:

 

In opposition to the almost negative reviews of Lionni’s art only being appreciated by artistic children, there is an overwhelming positive response from parents, teachers, and reviewers who praise the artwork for the magical underwater scenes.

 

Reviews:

 

"Swimmy, the little black fish and lone survivor in a school of red ones, devises an ingenious scheme for protecting a new school of fish friends. Lionni has illustrated his clever story with a series of astonishingly beautiful seascapes full of undulating watery nuances of shape, pattern, and color. Horn Rating: Outstanding, noteworthy in style, content, and/or illustration."

  Horn Book Guide, 1963  

 

"The originality, color, and beauty of this picture book stand out immediately as one picks it up. . . . The techniques used are exciting to artists and may be interesting to children though a trifie confusing at times."

  Alice Dalgliesh, Saturday Review, 1963  

 

"Now he goes deep under the sea to tell the story of Swimmy, a small fish left alone in the immensity of the great oceans--a Garibaldi of a fish who defies the fearsome sea-creatures and leads other small fish to the freedom of the seas. Watch small mermen and mermaids on the beach this summer after they have discovered this beautiful book. They may slip down to find Swimmy in his "deep, wet world...in the cool morning water." The book is also ably translated into French and Spanish for American children with better than first-year vocabularies in those languages."

Lavinia Russ, The New York Times Book Review, 1963

 

"An exquisite picture book which truly reflects the ethereal quality of underwater life. The illustrations demonstrate another technique by this artist: watercolor with pressing (other colors are pressed on the watercolor background with various materials such as rubber sponge, etc.). The story is slight. . . . The text won't bear constant repetition. but the pictures will evoke continuing awe from artistic, perceptive children."

  P.H.A Library Journal 1963  

 

"...It's a whimsical idea, carried out in exquisitely colored pictures, whose watery, chimering quality transports the looker to a magical undersea world."

  Polly Goodwin, The Chicago Tribune, 1963  

 

"A master of the picture book...a thoughtful child will return to his graphic magic again and again." 

  The New York Times, 1987  

 

"[Lionni] has delighted children everywhere with witty fables that "enrich the child's imaginative existence and give deeper meaning to the child's life."

  Bruno Bettelheim, The New York Times, 1990  

 

"Few other picture books deal with political action. ‘Swimmy,’ by Leo Lionni ...For many children raised in comfortable circumstances, encountering a bully on the playground is their first experience of powermongery. Is it ever too early to learn to recognize oppression for what it is?"  

  G. Maguire, Children's Chorus, New York Times Book Review, 2003  

 

 

"Like all of Leo Lionni’s work, Swimmy is a magnificent blend of story and graphics. Here, I feel, he has been more daring than ever. Both childlike and sophisticated, the images in the underwater environment glide by like a film across the screen. The jellyfish halfway through the book is similar to a potato print done by a kindergartner and is as sophisticated as the best art of our time. … Lionni, ever inventive, using the ornamental edge on a napkin or doily, painted on it and made prints. The joy that Lionni must have felt while doing this couldn’t possibly escape the viewer."

  Eric Carle, Preface to 50th Anniversary Edition 2013  

 

 

 

 

 

 

References:

 

ALGLIESH, A. Swimmy (Book Review). Saturday Review. 46, 46, May 11, 1963. ISSN: 03611655.

 

The Best of the Pictures

New York Times (1923-Current file); Nov 10, 1963; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times with Index pg. BR23

 

“Book Detail on Swimmy”.  Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database. <http://www.clcd.com.proxy2.library.illinois.edu/#/bookdetail/1/1/nJpniJmMingoKolk/bdrtop>

 

"Caldecott Medal & Honor Books, 1938-Present." Association for Library Services to Children. ALA, n.d. Web. <http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/caldecottmedal/caldecotthonors/caldecottmedal>.

 

"Children's Core Collection | HW Wilson." Children's Core Collection. Grey House Publishing, 2014. <http://www.hwwilsoninprint.com/child_core.php>.

 

Display Ad 314 -- No Title. New York Times (1923-Current file); May 17, 1987; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times with Index pg. 516

 

"The Junior Bookshelf."  Goodwin, Polly. Chicago Tribune (1963-Current file); Jul 14, 1963; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Chicago Tribune pg. I7 

 

Library Assn.’s Top Selections 1963

1963 WINNERS. (1964, Nov 01). Los Angeles Times (1923-Current File) Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/155030102?accountid=14553

 

Lionni, Leo. Swimmy, 50th Anniversary Edition. New York: Pantheon, 2013

 

MAGUIRE, G. Children's Chorus. New York Times Book Review. 108, 46, 22, Nov. 16, 2003. ISSN: 00287806.

 

National Education Association (2007). "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children". Retrieved April 11, 2015.

 

New Books for Younger Readers: JOSEFINA FEBRUARY. Written and illustrated by Evaline Ness. 29 pp. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. $3.25. [New York, N.Y] 16 June 1963: 229.

 

Paperbacks To Look For: Picture Books Ages 7 to 10 Ages 11 and Up Ages 8 and Up

New York Times (1923-Current file); May 6, 1973; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times with Index pg. 492

 

P. H., A. Swimmy (Book Review). Library Journal (1876). 88, 2547, June 15, 1963. ISSN: 00000027.

 

Review 28 -- No Title

Chicago Tribune (1963-Current file); Nov 10, 1963; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Chicago Tribune pg. K46A

 

RUSS, L. Swimmy (Book Review). New York Times Book Review. 28, June 16, 1963. 

 

Swimmy (Book Review). Horn Book Magazine. 39, 378, Aug. 1963.

 

Swimmy (Book Reveiw). Horn Book Magazine. 67.5, 618, Aug. 1991.

 

 

 

[i] "Children's Core Collection | HW Wilson." Children's Core Collection. Grey House Publishing, 2014. <http://www.hwwilsoninprint.com/child_core.php>.

 

[ii] "Caldecott Medal & Honor Books, 1938-Present." Association for Library Services to Children. ALA, n.d. Web. <http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/caldecottmedal/caldecotthonors/caldecottmedal>.

 

[iii] “Book Detail on Swimmy”.  Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database. <http://www.clcd.com.proxy2.library.illinois.edu/#/bookdetail/1/1/nJpniJmMingoKolk/bdrtop>

 

[iv] P. H., A. Swimmy (Book Review). Library Journal (1876). 88, 2547, June 15, 1963. ISSN: 00000027.