A First Time for Everything

By Dan Santat

*Winner of the 2023 National Book Award for Young People's Literature*

A middle grade graphic memoir based on bestselling author and Caldecott Medalist Dan Santat's awkward middle school years and the trip to Europe that changed his life.

Dan's always been a good kid. The kind of kid who listens to his teachers, helps his mom with grocery shopping, and stays out of trouble. But being a good kid doesn't stop him from being bullied and feeling like he's invisible, which is why Dan has low expectations when his parents send him on a class trip to Europe.

At first, he's right. He's stuck with the same girls from his middle school who love to make fun of him, and he doesn't know why his teacher insisted he come on this trip. But as he travels through France, Germany, Switzerland, and England, a series of first experiences begin to change him—first Fanta, first fondue, first time stealing a bike from German punk rockers... and first love.

Funny, heartwarming, and poignant, A First Time for Everything is a feel-good coming-of-age memoir based on New York Times bestselling author and Caldecott Medal winner Dan Santat's awkward middle school years. It celebrates a time that is universally challenging for many of us, but also life-changing as well.

Praise for After the Fall

“The author gives wings to both his protagonist and his message about the importance of getting back up after a fall and the realization that recovering from a trauma takes time.” —Booklist, starred review

“Santat’s precise illustrations and sensitive text combine for more emotional depth than the typical nursery rhyme remix. A terrific redemptive read-aloud for storytime and classroom sharing.” —School Library Journal, starred review

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Publishers
• Release date: Feb 28, 2023
• ISBN: 9781250322098

Dan Santat

Dan Santat is the Caldecott Medal–winning and New York Times–bestselling author and illustrator of The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend and the road trip/time travel adventure Are We There Yet? His artwork is also featured in numerous picture books, chapter books, and middle-grade novels, including Dav Pilkey's Ricky Ricotta series. Dan lives in Southern California with his wife, two kids, and many, many pets.

Book preview

Reviews for A First Time for Everything

[acargile-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What a wonderful graphic memoir, full of reality and strength. Dan Santat tells about his visit to Europe as a young teen. I believe he's about to be a 9th grader in this novel.Dan decides that life is better if he stays hidden, invisible, and quiet. He grows up in a small town outside of LA with parents who travel very little because his mother is ill. When they do travel, Dan believes that people will assume he travels alone because he's the only one ever in the picture. It's 1989, so there are no cell phones, only real cameras where you take the picture, wait to have it developed, and then see if the pictures are any good. Dan feels that people treat him badly, which is why he wants to be invisible, giving several examples of his life and friends. There's also a rather clueless teacher and ineffectual principal. He's now about to leave junior high, but before he does, he is studying abroad. He gets to the airport and discovers who else is going. Thankfully, there are two new boys along with the girls from school who give him a hard time. There are some new girls as well--one is particularly intriguing.For twenty-one days Dan explores Europe--and his own identity. He learns that dealing with people by choosing invisibility creates a narrow life. He visits Paris where he discovers Fanta. The history of Fanta is very interesting--another reason to read this memoir! A trip like this is a big wake up call for kids this age. These kids are around 13 years old, maybe 14. They have two chaperones and a tour guide for 21 days. Also, they have never dealt with money. Learning how to budget on a trip in a country where money and payment customs are completely different gives them great life lessons and a chance to grow up quickly! They journey on to to Switzerland where Dan experiences more embarrassing moments. We all hate these moments of growing up. They are terrible. In flashbacks we learn about some of the kids on the trip and how Dan is a really nice kid. Maybe they aren't being mean to him. Maybe he's over-reacting? That's for you to decide. Then it's on to Germany where the students live in a house with a German family for one week. The last two stops are Vienna and London. It's in these last three places that Dan takes a chance and finds a girl he likes and who likes him back. Sadly, when the trip is over--and it's almost over--they'll have to part ways. The memoir is so true to life. People do act exactly like these kids do, which seems so mean. Are they being mean or wanting him to join them in their sense of humor? What will shock you is the freedom they have in Europe. They are about to be freshmen in high school and they run all over Europe alone. My brother did a trip like this in the 80s and he had a great time. Times have changed, and I don't think trips like this exist anymore because of cell phones and social media. It's a great look at a time in history as well as the timeless look at what it means to be comfortable with who you are. Finding confidence to be ourselves take more time for some than others, but Dan learns lots of life lessons that direct him on a more exciting course. I highly recommend reading this graphic memoir.

[librarianryan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Looking through my years of reading Dan Santat‘s books, I realize that every single one of them I have rated five stars. This does not break that streak. This book was fantastic. It was a love story. It was an adventure story. It was a story about finding yourself. And Dan does that all through an autobiography in graphic format about going to Europe for the first time while in middle school. There is so much heart and love in this book and that Dan added the pictures at the end and the envelopes with Amy with the letters going back-and-forth… It was just perfect. You come away from this book with a smile on your face, just wanting more and going man is this author good. He can tell a story not just to keep kids entertained and interested but to keep adults entertained and interested as well. This author already has a Caldecott Medal now he’s going for Newbery, and I hope he gets it.

[salsabrarian · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This graphic novel memoir recounts the author's 1989 group trip to Europe with other kids before starting high school. Coming from a small town in California as the son of immigrants, the trip broadens his horizons and grows his confidence. There he has moments of feeling the freest and most true to himself than he has felt in a long time. Backmatter includes his adult ruminations on the trip, updates on his travel mates, and photos. A hilarious and hopeful work--one can transcend the awful moments of adolescence by exploring beyond one's boundaries, figuratively and literally. Highly recommended for fun summer reading.

[sjgirl-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Based on the author’s middle-school trip to Europe in 1989, and if like me, you mostly travel via books, you’ll probably appreciate the variety of countries this one visits and the beautifully illustrated landmarks depicted in each city, the perfectly rendered center court of Wimbledon ranked high among my favorites. I would have loved a little more about Dan’s parents but I am an adult reader so maybe that’s why I was curious about them, other than that I don’t have a lot of complaints about this one. In addition to the armchair travel and eighties details like Fanta sodas and John McEnroe, there’s the sweetest little romance, at its most adorable whenever she rested her head on him. There’s also a well-constructed character arc for Dan as he struggles to feel more comfortable in his skin and put embarrassing moments behind him which makes for a relatable read whether you went to Europe in middle-school or not.