2022 Northern Lights Book Awards
Picture Book of the Year
Annette Feels Free: The True Story of Annette Kellerman, World-Class Swimmer, Fashion Pioneer, and Real-Life Mermaid
Author/Illustrator: Katie Mazeika
Publisher: Beach Lane Books
Book Review
Annette Feels Free: The True Story of Annette Kellerman, World-Class Swimmer, Fashion Pioneer, and Real-Life Mermaid by Katherine Mazeika is an inspirational biography told in picture book form. Annette Kellerman, known as the “Original Mermaid,” was a music-loving girl who dreamed of the freedom to dance and swim after an illness stole the strength from her legs. Clumsy on land with her new walking apparatus, her father had the idea to take her to the ocean, a place where she could be graceful and strong.
Whether competing in races or developing a style of underwater ballet, Annette’s passion and perseverance broke records, fought unfair legislation, cultivated fashion styles, and transformed the world of swimming–especially for women. Her legacy lives on today with an Olympic category known as “artistic swimming.”
At the end of the book, there is more information and real life pictures of Annette in addition to an author’s note. The author, Katie Mazeika, writes about losing an eye to cancer as a young child. She states that as much as she struggled with her disability and having to wear an eye patch, she believes it shaped her life and made her the person she is today. Without their disabilities, Katie Mazeika may not have become an author and Annette Kellerman may have never learned to swim. In fact, Annette went so far as to consider the transformative experience as her “greatest blessing.”
This story, rich in many layers, is encouraging and entertaining for all ages, especially primary and elementary-aged children who will undoubtedly cheer and root for Annette. The bright, engaging illustrations accentuating water on every page only add to the experience highlighting an independent and determined woman that swam, danced, and designed so she could live her life feeling free.