This One Summer
Written by Mariko Tamaki
Illustrated by Jillian Tamaki
Published in 2014 by First Second
ISBN: 978-596437746
Ages 12-18
Awards: 2015 Caldecott Honor and 2015 Printz Honor
Book Review:
This One Summer was written by Mariko Tamaki and illustrated by Jillian
Tamaki. It’s a graphic novel that tells
the story of two young friends at the peak of adolescence. Every summer, Rose goes with her parents to
the town of Awago Beach. There she spends time with her friend, Windy.
Throughout the summer, the girls deal with new, more grown-up experiences as
they hang around the local teens. Rose
is also dealing with difficult times in her family as well. The story is told in monochromatic blue
images ranging from panels to full page illustrations. The drawings are realistic and help to
immerse the reader in the story.
Professional Reviews:
Teaching Ideas:
English/Reading (VA
SOL 10.4): The student will read, comprehend, and analyze a variety of
literary texts including narratives, narrative nonfiction, poetry, and drama.
Compare the characters of Rose and Windy using a
Venn diagram. Include their likes, dislikes, and their reactions to the horror
movies discussed in the book. Discuss how their friendship changes over time.
Metaphors and imagery are used heavily in the
book. Find two examples of metaphors and
two examples of imagery and discuss how they are used in the context of the
story.
World Geography (VA
SOL WG.4): The student will locate and analyze physical, economic, and
cultural characteristics of world regions.
This story takes place at Awago Beach, Canada
that has a Huron Village. Research the Hurons and their culture. Create a presentation using Prezi, emaze, or
equivalent that showcases the Huron people.
Art (VA SOL 8.6): The
student will communicate ideas, experiences, and narratives through the
creation of original works of art, using selected media.
Students will research the process of designing
a graphic novel. Students will then make
their own comic strip depicting the events and experiences of their past
summer.
Family Life (VA SOL
Family Life 8.10): The student will analyze the issues related to teenage
pregnancy.
Teen pregnancy is one of the topics dealt with
in this book. Students will work in
small groups to discuss how various characters (Rose, Windy, Dunc, and Jenny)
deal with teen pregnancy. Each group
will present to the class and as a whole group will discuss real life options.
Book Pairs
Chiggers by Hope
Larson. This is a graphic novel about a girl who returns to summer camp. Abby finds that things aren’t the same at
camp this year and tries to make new friends, but ends up alienating others.
This graphic novel is lower level, so it could be used as a companion for lower
level readers in grades 8 and 9. It is positively reviewed and was a Cybil
Award finalist in 2008.
Take What You Can
Carry by Kevin C. Pyle. This novel is about two teenagers from different
time periods and countries. Like This One Summer, it is a coming of age
story for each of the boys. The book is
great for boys ages 14-18 and it is culturally diverse.
Friends with Boys
by Faith Erin Hicks. This is a graphic novel that is also a story about teenage
girls in a small town. It is a story
about building friendships, but with a supernatural twist. The book is appropriate for children ages
12-16. The graphic novel format may be appealing to struggling readers. It was one of YALSA’s Great Graphic Novels
Top Ten in 2013.
All the Bright Places
by Jennifer Niven. Rose’s mom struggles with deep depression in This One Summer. All the Bright Places
also deals with the issue of depression, but presented in a different way. It’s a positively reviewed, award winning book
with literary merit. A movie adaptation
is upcoming, which generates student interest.
Someone Like You
by Sarah Dressen. This novel has themes
of friendship and teenage pregnancy, which are two concepts in This One
Summer. It’s appropriate for the high
school age group. It was on YALSA’s best
books list the year after it was published.
Further Explorations
A link to the author’s blog. http://marikotamaki.blogspot.com/
A link to the illustrator’s blog. http://blog.jilliantamaki.com/
This is a great guide on how to create a graphic novel. http://www.penguin.com/static/pdf/teachersguides/you_can_do_a_graphic_novel_TG.pdf
Watch this exciting booktalk about This One Summer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jq1CENzgW6Q
This site shows what a traditional Huron village is like in Quebec,
Canada. Students may like to explore this site as the main characters visit a
Huron village in the book.
Explore information about depression written for teens.
The author and the illustrator discuss the book during a festival in
2015.
References:
Dessen, S. (1998). Someone like you.
New York, NY: Viking.
Detroit Public TV. (2015, May 1). Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki
on this one summer - 2015 L.A. times festival of books [video file]. Retrieved
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODS7znhendE
Hicks, F. E. (2012). Friends with
boys. New York, NY: First Second.
Hunter, S. (2014, April 15). This one summer. Retrieved from
http://www.booklistonline.com/(X(1)A(Zuax9QfK0AEkAAAAZjI3M2Y3NTUtZWNmNS00MGNiLWEwOWMtMWNiOGNjNTgzNWM0lKUIBidAce1bf9_OoqJAHUP5YJA1))/ProductInfo.aspx?pid=6707159&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1
Kirkus Reviews. (2014, April 9). This one summer. Retrieved from
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/mariko-tamaki/this-one-summer/
Larson, H. (2008). Chiggers.
New York, NY: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.
Niven, J. (2015). All the
bright places. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf.
Pyle, K. C. (2012). Take what
you can carry. New York, NY: Square Fish.
Slate, B. (2010). You can do a graphic novel. Retrieved from
http://www.penguin.com/static/pdf/teachersguides/you_can_do_a_graphic_novel_TG.pdf
Smith, M., & Segal, J. (2015, July). A teenager's
guide to depression: Tips and tools for helping yourself or a friend. Retrieved
from
http://www.helpguide.org/articles/depression/teenagers-guide-to-depression.htm
Tamaki, J. (n.d.). Jillian Tamaki sketchblog. Retrieved from
http://blog.jilliantamaki.com/
Tamaki, M. (n.d.). Mariko Tamaki. Retrieved from
http://marikotamaki.blogspot.com/
Tamaki, M., & Tamaki, J. (2014). This one summer. New York, NY:
First Second.
Tiny Reads. (2015, February 17). Book talk - This one summer
[video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jq1CENzgW6Q
Village des Hurons Canada. (n.d.). Traditional Huron site.
Retrieved from http://www.huron-wendat.qc.ca/index-en.html
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