"Marcia Stanley started giving swimming lessons in her parents' backyard pool when she was in high school. Her reputation spread, and every summer the number of families taking lessons with Marcia grew. Developed over the years, Marcia's approach to teaching children to swim combines a strong background in child development, firsthand knowledge of how children of various ages and personalities learn to swim, and years of experience giving lessons. Her teaching approach emphasizes developing trust and building on each child's interests, imagination, and innate curiosity. In addition to offering swimming lessons to all ages, she taught preschool for many years. An experienced and patient instructor, Marcia lives in San Diego, California. She wrote Callum Takes Swimming Lessons because she feels strongly about the advantages of learning to swim. ""While most people look at swimming as a recreational activity,"" she says, ""it's also a safety measure. All children should learn how to swim."" Sue Ann Erickson is a graphic designer, illustrator, and fine artist. She is skilled in painting realistic watercolor images and in blending traditional media with digital illustration and design. Callum Takes Swimming Lessons is her fourth book with Dayton Publishing. The mother of four grown children and grandmother of two grandsons, she lives in Washington, New Jersey. You can see more of Sue Ann's illustrations and watercolors on Facebook.com and Instagram.com."
"""In this charming book, Callum goes from a child who isn't sure he wants to get into the pool, to a confident little boy with solid swimming and water safety skills. ... A treasure for any young child learning to swim, and a gentle guide for parents who want to help their children learn ..."" - Catherine Dickerson, M.Ed., M.S.W., Play Therapist, retired ""Marcia Stanley's extensive experience in teaching both pre-school and swimming for more than 30 years, as well as her caring, warm personality are evident in this story about a child's first swim lessons. It will leave you and your little ones feeling cared for, encouraged and eager to fall in love with swimming at your own pace, all while being prepared, safe and at ease."" - Genevieve Stapleton, Mother of two confident young swimmers ""Callum Takes Swimming Lessons is the latest expression of Marcia Stanley's lifelong commitment to making a difference in the lives of children."" - Linda Sundberg, Teacher, San Dieguito Parent Participation Pre-school, SDUHSD Adult School ""Marcia Stanley's dedication to early childhood education as well as swim safety is remarkable. ... With the release of this book she's really gone above and beyond! ... We were so fortunate to experience a reading by Miss Marcia herself for our pre-school group."" - Kimberly Bruch, Director, Hopscotch San Diego International Tiny Tots"