• Age: 9 to 13
• Grade: 4 to 8
• Reading age: 7 to 10

Josie's sister Melissa is too perfect, better than her in everything--except in the pool. Josie dreams of Olympic swimming gold, and works hard with her Calgary swim team to achieve it.

So when Melissa decides to join the team too, Josie is outraged and afraid that, once again, her sister will beat her. But as the big invitational swim meet approaches Melissa acts to help make Josie's dream come true, and forces them both to reconsider the value of sisterhood.

Water Fight! is the story of two sisters who overcome sibling rivalry and learn to be themselves.

Michele Martin Bossley was born in Boston, Massachusetts, but grew up in Calgary, Alberta. Her sixth grade teacher encouraged her to write down the stories she enjoyed creating, but it wasn't until high school that Michele really began to consider writing as a career. She graduated from the University of Calgary in 1991, and began working seriously on writing children's books.

Michele is the author of eighteen novels for young people. Ten of her books have been chosen by the Canadian Children's Book Centre for the Our Choice list. Others have been nominated for the Manitoba and Alberta Reader's Choice Award, and she was runner-up for the 1997 Writer's Guild of Alberta R. Ross Annett Children's Literature award.

Many of Michele's books focus on different sports. As a former athlete, she was involved in synchronized swimming in her teens and competitive swimming in university. She has also coached young swimmers, in addition to coaching her twin sons' soccer and hockey teams, and draws on much of that experience for her books.

A frequent speaker at writing conferences and schools, Michele divides her time between writing and parenting her four sons. She lives in Calgary, Alberta.

Michele Martin Bossley's profile page

"Water Fight! would be a suitable addition to public and school libraries as well as individual collections. Useful in a classroom setting, the relevant topics introduced in this title would open many possibilities for class discussion and student writing."

Canadian Materials