The Days of Summer

by Eve Bunting, William Low (Illustrator)

It just doesn't happen. Grandparents don't get divorced. Do they? Nora and Jo-Jo are stunned by their grandparents' decision. They try to think of ways to make Grandma and Grandpa stay together, but their efforts seem hopeless. As the days of summer pass, Nora is in despair. Change is hard, and she doesn't like it.
Then, during a special visit to her grandparents' house, Nora discovers that honesty and love can carry one through even the most difficult changes.

Genres: Picture Books, Divorce, Realistic Fiction, Childrens, Fiction

40 pages, Hardcover

First published March 5, 2001

About the author

Also known as Evelyn Bolton and A.E. Bunting.

Anne Evelyn Bunting, better known as Eve Bunting, is an author with more than 250 books. Her books are diverse in age groups, from picture books to chapter books, and topic, ranging from Thanksgiving to riots in Los Angeles. Eve Bunting has won several awards for her works.

Bunting went to school in Ireland and grew up with storytelling. In Ireland, “There used to be Shanachies… the shanachie was a storyteller who went from house to house telling his tales of ghosts and fairies, of old Irish heroes and battles still to be won. Maybe I’m a bit of a Shanchie myself, telling stories to anyone who will listen.” This storytelling began as an inspiration for Bunting and continues with her work.

In 1958, Bunting moved to the United States with her husband and three children. A few years later, Bunting enrolled in a community college writing course. She felt the desire to write about her heritage. Bunting has taught writing classes at UCLA. She now lives in Pasadena, California.

Reviews

[Elisabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Firstly, this book needs a different title. I pulled this one as a summer book, as I'm sure others have, and it's not about summer at all.

Nora and Jo-Jo's grandparents are getting divorced and they are very upset about it, understandably. Everything is going to change, and they are afraid of various scenarios they have heard from other people. We go through typical conversations, and the girls visit their grandma without grandpa and it feels weird. The story never really resolves anything. Nora just says she will learn to deal with it. But she doesn't say how. There's no closure here, which is honest, I guess, but feels strange in a picture book. It would be helpful to have more affirmations that things are going to be okay and the grandparents still love them and will still see them just as much.

The illustrations are odd, because there's only one view of either grandparent, and then we don't even see grandma's face. We don't see grandpa at all. Maybe they did this because they wanted the reader to picture their own grandparents? But I felt like it made the story less real, since the center of the conflict and change is not even pictured. Very strange.

I was disappointed in both the illustrations and the text. I don't know of any other book that addresses this subject, (This is the only one in our library) but I can think of many different ways it could be done better. I guess I better start writing.

[Diana · Rating 1 out of 5]

OOOOOORRRRRRR...You could just work on your marriage instead of abandoning it! Seriously! There's nothing really wrong with the marriage here. No fighting. no abuse. No cheating. Just..."I'm not as happy as maybe I could be if we were apart and we'll still be friends maybe even better friends because it's easier to get a divorce than to try to work on my marriage because it's all about ME ME ME and if you aren't making me blissfully happy then we're better off apart." Seriously. Get over yourself, go to counseling, go out on a date once a week, put your spouse first. This was not a book about divorce. It was a book about quitting and putting everyone else through misery so you can go running off in search of yourself. Here's a hint: If you aren't happy now, chances are that abandoning your promises won't make you happier in the long run.

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredulous that TheIr grandparents have gotten divorced, Nora and Jo-Jo find it hard to accept the family news.

Finally these kids, and their parents, go to visit their grandmother.

Her words of wisdom and honesty, simply told, are deeply consoling.

Not for the first time, I am awed by the wisdom of author Eve Bunting. Illustrations by William Low are superb as well.

FIVE STARS

[Benjamin Elliott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sad, but I could see it helping a child going through a similar situation. It was not, however, the sort of book I was looking for as I pulled it because it had been tagged under "back to school" fiction.

[Emily Knickerbocker]

This book is from Nora's perspective and her emotions through her grandparent's divorce and how she could see it was affecting everyone. I would ask my students to write the main points of the story.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

A gentle way to introduce children to the concept of divorce.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was not what I expected. Sweet and sad - grandma and grandpa are getting a divorce, and their children and grandchildren are learning how to cope with the changes at summer's end.

[Jaclyn Giordano · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Days of Summer by Eve Bunting is a picture book intended for readers in grade two through grade 5. I gave it five stars. JoJo and Nora are two young girls whose grandparents are getting a divorce. Each little girl, one in fourth grade and one in kindergarten, must deal with the closing of their grandparent’s marriage, just as summer comes to a close. Their mother and father are also there as the family takes an emotional journey as Grandpa and Grandma move on, move out, and get divorced. “It’s more as if they’re not best friends anymore.” Young readers, especially those with divorced parents, will feel emotionally connected to this story as they think about their own lives and changes that occur with divorce. The warmth and love of a family, readers learn, will never stop, no matter how far apart family members grow. The brightly colored pictures along with darker pictures convey both a full and loving family and a family full of sorrow and pain. JoJo’s and Nora’s journey, alongside the rest of their family, is one of questioning, understanding, and acceptance, as they, along with readers, learn what makes a real family work: just being there for each other no matter what bad things may happen.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll be honest. This was a tough book to read. It made me sad. The catalyst of the whole story is two grandparents getting a divorce, but the real focus was the impact divorce has on a whole family. Divorce is never just between two people. Everyone who knows the couple goes through the separation too. Here, the divorce impacts the grandchildren and the children of the divorced couple a lot and the story really becomes focused on how the family copes with the new set of circumstances that are in place. I'll be honest. This book brought me down, and not because Bunting was trying to be depressing. It just can't honest and end happily and cleanly. It's depressing and there's no way to avoid that.

[Tyra Denine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good book. It deals with the grand parents getting a divorce. Not the parents of the two little girls in the story. Carmen and Jo-Jo struggles with the idea of their grand parents getting a divorce. Though they are very sad at the prospect, Jo-Jo doesn't really seem to understand the realness of it. Throughout the book, she suggests that they can get un-divorced like a couple of cartoon character chipmunks. As older sister, Carmen tries to explain the reality of it to her five year-old sister, she realizes what their mother must be going through and wants to be strong for her and find a way to cope with it. By the story's end, they group is still somewhat doleful, but Carmen has come up with a way to deal with the situation and keep Grandpa in the family.

[Julie Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dealing with change: the last days of summer as a metaphor for dealing with a divorce in the family. More than a book that is a joy to read on its own, this is one probably meant to open up discussion and help a child cope with divorce. This one is strictly for the kids, but I did appreciate how Bunting remembers some of the silly mind games we play as children that set us up for disappointment, such as "If I can catch this lighting bug, my parents won't get divorced." I remember doing that all the time (glad I'm not the only one).

[Pepper · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a book that I should have read the summary before checking it out of the library for my 5-year-old daughter. That being said, this is a very well written children's book about divorce. I like that this book is not just about parent's divorce, but about grandparents and that it points out showing empathy toward others and how a family does not have to be together to be whole.

[Sydney McClure · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book to dive into family values. It's a heartthrob, but it helps bring light on the subject of divorce and how a family is still a family when marriage is no longer in the picture. Again, I love this author! This would be better for intermediate and upper elementary grades because of the intensity of the subjects may be too stressful for younger students.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book you need to read if your grandparents are divorcing. Mine are dead, so it wasn't really that useful to me.

[Am.Aversa]

This book is about two little girls finding out that their grandparents are getting divorced. As they deal with the separation of their loved ones, they understand that they still love both grandparents.
This can be really helpful with students dealing with divorce.
Genre: Realistic fiction