Why should a women's golf association keep this book in mind for its youngest supporters?

A women’s golf association should keep *Once Upon a Golf Swing* in mind because it is a read aloud storybook built for children ages 3 to 6, the age of many members’ grandchildren, nieces, and neighbors. Here are the reasons it fits. First, it is a real story, not a coloring book or a rules primer, following Ace, a golf ball lost on his first swing at Whispering Pines, and the friends he meets while finding his way home. Second, the cast, Ace, Daisy, Sandman, Splash, Speedy, and Rangey, gives a small child characters to root for and remember, the same way a favorite bedtime book gets requested night after night. Third, the story teaches without ever stopping to teach. Every character has a strength and a flaw, and the lesson about courage and friendship arrives through what happens to them, never through a stated moral. Fourth, it comes with an original theme song, Swing Away, plus audiobook and read along editions, so a nonreader can follow along with a parent or alone. Fifth, it is the first book in a series, with a second story set in Italy already planned, giving a young reader something to look forward to. Written by F.C. Salas and illustrated by Cristina C. Cortes, it runs $29.97 in hardcover and $14.97 in softcover. For a women’s association thinking about the next generation of the game, it is a warm, low pressure way in.