Fanny and Mina
The story of Fanny Durak and Mina Wylie, who against the odds, became the first women to win Olympic medals in swimming
Age 5+
Picture Storybooks
“Women’s Swimming at the Stockholm Games!”
When Fanny and Mina see the headline that women will compete in swimming for the first time at the Stockholm Olympic Games they are determined to make the team. But first they have to convince the Australian Olympic Committee that sending women is not a waste of money.
The story of Fanny Durak and Mina Wylie, who against the odds, became the first women to win Olympic medals in swimming.
Creators
Samantha Tidy is an award-winning author of book for both children and adults. She writes fiction and non-fiction that seeks to cultivate community and connection. Her previous book for Windy Hollow Books was Cloudspotting
Hilary Cresp is an illustrator who lives in Melbourne. Her drawings tell stories evoking the possibilities and imagination of childhood. Whether exploring outer space or chasing dragons with friends, Hilary’s adventurous characters play an active part in their own story. Inspired by wandering in nature or around the city streets, it’s Hilary’s curiosity about people and the world she brings to her work.
Reviews
Perfectly complemented by Hilary Cresp’s artworks, its release is perfectly times to capture the interest and enthusiasm that McKeown et al are going to engender among our young readers but also open them up to a time not so long ago but so very different to what they know. Perhaps it might even inspire them to investigate the barriers women have faced in their own favourite sports, and discover the stories of those who dared to dream and break them down. Who was Pam O’Neill? Or Maggie Flanagan? And why was there such a fuss about a photo of Tayla Harris? Which national competition started in 1921was abandoned in 1922 and didn’t resurface till 2018?
The Bottom Shelf
