A First Time for Everything
By: Dan Santat
Genre: Graphic Novel, Middle Grade, Memoir
Number of Pages: 320
Published: February 28, 2023
Publisher: First Second
Dates Read: November 20, 2023
Format: Library Book / Hardcover

Best selling author and Caldecott Medalist Dan Santat writes about his middle school class trip traveling around Europe in 1989. As he travels through France, Germany, Switzerland, and England, a series of first experiences begin to change him and his perspective on life.

I can’t remember exactly why I grabbed this title from my library but then it won the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, and I knew I needed to read it. I’m glad I did! It was such a fun read.

When I was in high school, my French teacher took a group of kids to Paris every other summer for a week (it would be a part of the EF Tours, but just the Paris leg of the trip) so I could relate to a lot of what Dan Santat would bring up about the touring and such. It was also my first time traveling to a complete other country, halfway across the world, by myself.

As the title implies, there is a first time for everything, and Santat experiences a lot of firsts on this trip in the novel: first time traveling without his parents, first overseas Fanta drink, first cigarette, first alcoholic drink, first kiss, first time sharing his art with someone. Through flashbacks the reader sees experiences that Santat had before, which make him hesitant to try something new.

The art of this graphic novel is gorgeous and captivating. There are illustrations from all the famous European cities and historic buildings the students visited on their trip. Everything was clearly drawn and characters were different from one another where I was never confused as to who was who.

Overall, I can see why it won the award. I can also see myself putting this in the hands of those who like travelogues and coming of age stories.