That Summer

by Tony Johnston, Barry Moser (Illustrator)

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 leaving the world? You reach for fragments of memory, like moments caught on film. You savor the vivid colors and small joys of each new day. That's what Joey's family does when they know he is leaving them.
Tony Johnston's poignant words and Barry Moser's intimate pictures, a blend of past and present, invite us to share the experience of that summer--a season of family, of life, and of love.

"This life-affirming story can provide inspiration and consolation for the brothers and sisters of seriously ill children--and for all family members when a child is losing the fight against a terrible disease. It's sure to stimulate helpful discussions."

-Gregory Reaman, M.D., Chair of the National Children's Oncology Group

Genres: Picture Books, Death, Childrens, Summer, Grief, Family

32 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2002

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Tony Johnston has written many acclaimed books for young people. She and her husband lived in Mexico for fifteen years, where they raised their children. She now lives in San Marino, California.

Reviews

[Sister.Jade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Illustrator: Barry Moser
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Date: 2002
Genre: Family/Death
Strength: This story strongly illustrates the hardship that families face when they shift from knowing and seeing a family member as healthy and then suffering through the hardship of terminal illnesses with them. This story is written from the perspective of the brother who watched his brother suffer from a terminal illness and dealt with the grief of losing him. The book starts with memories and ends in sadness which makes it relatable to those children who are facing the passing of a sibling or another family member.
Interest: I love stories that have real life situations in them. It makes them relatable and can bring comfort to people or children who are facing something similar to those in the story. Not all stories are happy or have happy endings and their needs to be children’s books that reflect this to prevent children from being annoyed by books that don’t relate to them.

[Jacquelyn Hoogendyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

That Summer by Tony Johnston is a story about a young boy and his brother Joey who start summer just like any other boys do, spending every day running around outside. But when Joey becomes very ill, everyone soon realizes that Joey will not last very long. Joey’s brother sees death before his eyes and through his grandmother he learns to cope with it. Joey begins a quilt of all the things he loves in this world and does not complete it before he passes. Joey’s brother completes the quilt for his brother and it helps to deal with the horrible event. In the end of the story Joey's brother is no longer angry with the event, but is at terms with the fact that death is a horrible part of life. I would use this in my classroom as a part of a lesson with death. I feel that although the material in this book is mature, young students would do great in a discussion circle talking about if they think they would react the same way Joey did or not.

[J Scotland · Rating 5 out of 5]

certainly one of th' most moving children's books I've read in a long, long time, in flowing, poetic language, Tony Johnston tells th' story of the summer that th' narrator's brother, Joey, became terminally illand then slowly left this green world of ours.

Kudos to both author Johnston for his beautiful language that touches th' heart, and for illustrator Barry Moser's incomparable watercolour and charcoal illustrations taken from both th' imagination and real life photographs of th' boys' childhood portraying all those good times from that summer.

"Once, Joey and Gram looked up
at the stars
flung clear across forever
and Joey asked, 'when
will I die?'

'Oh, my baby dear,' she crooned
and held him.
'who will care for me then?'
'God will,' said Gram."


Thankee, Sai, big-big to the both of you for this heartfelt, important story.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Text Set
That Summer is about a little boy who watches his brother named Joey get sick and die from cancer. When Joey’s condition worsens he copes by quilting, however is unable to finish his quilt before passing away, leaving his brother to finish the quilt, while learning how to enjoy the simple beauties the world has to offer.
This story illustrates the importance of family, life, and how to deal with grief. This is a necessary read for children who have experienced the loss of a loved one due to cancer. This may be a hard book for students to read, as many of the books in my text set are, but every student would benefit from the messages this book has to offer. The students would also learn the importance of enjoying the small beautiful things life has to over, while gaining the ability to be empathic towards one another.

[Kristin McDonough · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very emotional picture book that I needed to read a few times to really soak it in. This book poignantly deals with the issue of losing a younger sibling to cancer. The author uses beautiful figurative language to convey his message. Tears were brought to my eyes many times while reading this well-crafted book. It is obvious that the author painstakingly thought about each word and phrase he included. Wow!

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This picture book about a siblings illness and death might be a good one to share with children older than 8. The poetry is prose-like and older children will do better with deciphering the meaning and pathos. The illustrations by Moser are in graphite, chalk and water colors and evoke the feel of old photographs.

[Ashlyn Barker-Salyer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like how this book began and even through the middle...but I feel that the ending could be written better. I had to reread to see when Joey died because it seemed to abruptly jump. Since this book is written for children, I was hoping the ending could contain an element of hope in some way that readers could grab on to. I wouldn't use it as a read aloud due to the heavy content in a classroom.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very spare and impressionistic rather than linear narrative that is well-paired with Moser's watercolors and graphite-on-gray-with-white-chalk illustrations. The latter are stunning and grave. This could be a useful book to help a child or young person grieve safely in the context of safe relationships.

[Jo]

Lib. A family, including a child who is dying, sews together a guilt of its memories and love. A gift for Abuelita" Celebrating the Day of the Dead.
English and Spanish texts describe Rosita's way of honoring her grandmother during the family's day of the Dead celebration.

[Mehta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely beautiful book, text in poetry and illustrations alternate watercolors of the present in the story, and amazing sketches of family photos. I cried. At work. Truly lovely way of approaching the topic of death.

[JoyfulK · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a tender book about a family in which one child is dying. As they go through the summer, they find ways to support each other and acknowledge the daily details of life as well as their loss and grief. Beautifully written and illustrated. Recommended.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A beautifully written book. Like a previous poster, I cried also. At work. In front of the class I was reading the book to. HHHMMM, will have to add it to the list of books I don't do as read-alouds. But will read for myself, and if we have that situation with a family in our school.

[Bethe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bookaday 74. Family prepares during the summer for the youngest child's terminal illness by piecing together a quilt of memories. I adore the page where the memory for God looks a lot like their border collie.

[Bree · Rating 4 out of 5]

Notes:
for kids in family where sibling is terminally ill
beautiful illustrations

[Andrea Labonte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very sad but beautiful story about a brother dying as a young child.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A family, including a child who is dying, sews together a quilt of their memories and love.

[SB · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great resource for modeling how to support a sibling who has cancer.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read a lot of death books over the years, and some affect me more than others. This one got me in the tear ducts.
The story of a family, told by a big brother, as they say their extended goodbyes to Joey. Joey’s death comes after a summer of ailing, of preparation, of tears, and of memories – old and nearly created.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brother, Joey gets sick and ends up dying, probably from cancer. The story is told from the older brother's point of view. It tells how a quilt helped him to say goodbye to his brother. It is a beautiful, but sad book.

[Melissa Ganka-Collins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow this was sad one! This was a sweet story of one brother's memory of his last summer with his brother before he died of cancer. I wouldn't recommend it as a read aloud for kids with cancer or siblings with cancer, but maybe good for older kids to learn empathy.

[Macy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A heartbreaking yet beautiful story on losing someone you love to cancer. I plan to read this to my 5th grade students to align with our health standards on dealing with loss and grief.

[Daniella Galaviz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book so much. I love the way it creeps into the topic of death in such ease. Great book, caught myself tearing a couple of times.

[Shelley Shoemaker · Rating 4 out of 5]

So sad! I couldn't give it a higher rating because it made me too sad.