FVCC Grad Authors Published Book

Bigfork resident Roger Diller always enjoyed working with children.  He taught his daughter Keila, now 16, at the age of five how to swim.  He began teaching other children how to swim when he was 30 years old.  But his teachings are not ordinary swimming instructions involving paying an instructor for services rendered.  He considers them a service of goodwill, and he has never accepted payment for the learning experiences he has provided.
 
Diller, a self-taught swimmer who is now “close to 50,” has been providing this special service along with his daughter to other children for the last 10 years.  Not only was he awarded an Associate of Arts degree with an emphasis in elementary education during FVCC’s spring commencement this May, his recently published book, “Up the Creek with Padle,” has become an important resource for families as they gear up for the closely approaching summer season.  
 
Designed to teach parents how to teach their children how to swim, the book tells the story of a young boy, “Daniel,” who journeys to a swimming hole with his family one summer afternoon.  In the story, Daniel’s dog “Padle” teaches him the swimming techniques Diller and his daughter teach other young aspiring swimmers. The motivating and inspirational story concludes with Daniel learning how to swim and shares how he, with Padle’s help, teaches his friend and other children the skills to be safe and efficient swimmers.
 
“This is a great instructional book disguised as a bedtime story for parents to read their children,” said Diller. “Not only does it boost self-confidence, it teaches kids a simple way to swim safely, and they can practice the skills in their dreams.”
 
In addition to Diller’s passion for teaching kids, his inspiration to write the book was driven by a close call he experienced when he was a young boy.  At the age of 11, Diller nearly drowned as he swam over three waterfalls and was “sucked under” between the first and second falls.  He credits his strong swimming skills to saving his life.
 
“Strong swimming skills are something all children need to have by the time they are five years old and especially in this area with all of the water that surrounds us,” he said.  “The ultimate goal of this book is to save lives.”
 
Diller’s book, illustrated by FVCC alumna Lara Kato and edited by FVCC Writing Lab Instructional/Tutorial Assistant Jim Soular and Kato, is available in the FVCC Bookstore and on www.amazon.com.