That Summer

By Tony Johnston

Book Overview

That summer the brothers ran into the sun, freed from school. Time for fishing poles, lightning bugs, country roads, baseball gloves. But then Joey was dying. What do you do when someone you love is... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 015201585X
• ISBN13: 9780152015855
• Release Date: May 2002
• Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 11.0" x 0.3" x 7.8"
• Age Range: 4 to 7 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 2

Customer Reviews

Heartwrenching and beautiful

I bought this book after wearing out my library's copy. I use it as an introduction to a quilting unit I teach with gifted children, and open the box of tissues before I ever open the book each year. It is poignant and wonderful, and the author's vivid language is a reader's (and teacher's) dream.

tear jerker

This is a story about one summer that 2 brothers share. One of the brothers has cancer and the other brother tells the story of what he learned during his brother's illness. He learns how to make the bed while his brother is in it and he learned how to smile when his heart is breaking inside. This is truly a tale of brotherly love! Cancer is so real in today society. Each family is touched with it in some way. This book is really heartbreaking and will make you count your blessings if your children are healthy. Yes. I have never read a book quite like this one. There are books that help kids deal with the death of grownups but I'm not sure there are many that deal with terminally ill children and their feelings.

Life, Love, and Loss.....

"That summer began like always, with hoots and shouts, all of us running in the sun, freed from school..." But, as his brother, the narrator tells us, on the fourth of July, Joey "took sick." He went to bed and stayed there. When he perked up, the whole family was filled with hope, and when he got worse again, they realized the awful truth. "What do you do when you know you are leaving the world, when your heart hurts with grieving? Joey was leaving. It was clear as the rain that stung his window that summer." Gram sat by his bed keeping vigil and quilting, and when Joey couldn't sleep, Gram taught him how to quilt. And so that summer, he sewed the pieces of his young life together, all the things he love, "a patch with an owl because he loved its call, the cow he squeezed from clay (first grade), and his fishing pole and a lightning bug and a country road and his baseball glove..." Author, Tony Johnston, and illustrator, Barry Moser, invite the reader to share in this very intimate and moving experience. Mr Johnston's quiet, understated, and eloquent text is at times both poignant and uplifting, and rich in beautifully poetic figurative language. Mr Moser's stunning artwork captures the special moments of Joey's life in dazzling full-colored illustrations, juxtaposed with touching and emotional gray and white "snapshots" that seem to be pulled from the family photo album. Together, word and art paints a remarkable portrait of life, strong love and loss, told with great insight, wisdom, and truth. Perfect for youngsters 5 and older, That Summer is an inspiring story that deals with the sensitive subject of the death of a loved one with honesty and respect, and should help open important discussions. As Barry Moser writes in his dedication... "For all the courageous people who care for terminally ill children, with my deepest respect and admiration." An amazing book that shouldn't be missed.

Powerful Children's Literature

"That Summer" is a poetic blend of the carefree days of a childhood summer disrupted by the reality of terminal illness. The narrator's brother, Joey, becomes ill during summer vacation. As his illness progresses, he begins to piece a quilt: "Cut scraps into shapes of all the things you love," Gram said,"then join them with thread." Illustrated with beautiful graphite and chalk pictures by Barry Moser, Tony Johnston weaves a story of a brother's love, a family's loss, and a patchwork of memories through powerful figurative language: "...that summer, a gleam of guilt glided through my heart like a gleam of snake down a hole." This is one of the most moving childrens' books I've ever read.