A Smart, Smart School

by Sharon Creech, Anait Semirdzhyan (Illustrator)

Overview

A Bank Street Books Best Children's Book of the Year for Family/School/Community Fiction, noted for outstanding merit (2024)

Newbery Medal winner Sharon Creech delivers a companion to the New York Times bestselling picture book favorite A Fine, Fine School. Beloved characters Tillie, Beans, and Mr. Keene return, with a timely message about the importance of creativity in the classroom.

Mr. Keene runs a fine, fine school. He encourages his students to express themselves through the creative arts: drawing, painting, reading, and singing. Then Mr. Keene’s appendix bursts, and he's rushed to the hospital.

A new principal named Mr. Tatters arrives to take his place, and he is a serious man. He does not smile, does not laugh, disapproves of their creative methods of learning, and immediately implements a policy of daily tests, banning songs, flowers, art, and fun!

Soon the students tire of constant test taking, and the teachers grow too fatigued to grade any more tests. Thankfully, Mr. Keene heals and when he returns, he encourages his students to balance their creativity with their learning.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780063059610
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	06/13/2023
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	1,048,569
Product dimensions:	8.90(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Sharon Creech has written twenty-one books for young people and is published in over twenty languages. Her books have received awards in both the U.S. and abroad, including the Newbery Medal for Walk Two Moons, the Newbery Honor for The Wanderer, and Great Britain’s Carnegie Medal for Ruby Holler.

Before beginning her writing career, Sharon Creech taught English for fifteen years in England and Switzerland. She and her husband now live in Maine, “lured there by our grandchildren,” Creech says.

www.sharoncreech.com

Hometown:

Pennington, New Jersey

Date of Birth:

July 29, 1945

Place of Birth:

Cleveland, Ohio

Education:

B.A., Hiram College, 1967; M.A., George Mason University, 1978

Editorial Reviews

05/01/2023

K-Gr 3—Principal Keene loves his school, and it fills him with joy to see the creativity and color that fill the classrooms as the teachers and students enjoy activities such as painting and reading. When Mr. Keene is rushed to the hospital with appendicitis, everyone is worried, especially Tilly, who loves helping Mr. Keene whenever she can. When Mr. Tatters arrives to take over, he does not like what he finds. What this school needs, Mr. Tatters decides, are tests! Soon every day is full of tests, so much that Tilly doesn't even have time to play after school anymore. Text and illustrations convey the tiresome repetition of the same activity day after day, with the draining of energy palpable on the pages. When they finally have a chance to visit Mr. Keene in the hospital, the students and teachers take the time to share how much they care for him. And once he returns to school, it doesn't take long for the color and joy to return with him. The beautiful digital illustrations are reminiscent of classics such as Sarah Stewart's The Library, and both text and illustrations share a love of creativity and an appreciation for educators. VERDICT This lovely picture book companion to A Fine, Fine School welcomes readers to an incredible elementary school that appreciates creativity and those who make an impact on students' lives.—Selenia Paz

School Library Journal

2023-04-12
School administrators enact different visions of success.

Principal Keene is proud of his “fine, fine school,” where racially diverse students draw, sing, and read to their hearts’ content. But when acute appendicitis results in a hospital stay, the district sends Mr. Tatters—the weedy, pinch-nosed opposite of Mr. Keene’s rotund joviality (both light-skinned)—to look over Fine Elementary School in his absence. Tatters disapproves of creativity and implements a strict testing policy, to the dismay of students and teachers alike. Luckily, Mr. Keene’s hospitalization proves brief, and upon his return the school goes back to its colorful, inventive self. Student Tillie (who is light-skinned) takes Mr. Tatters around and represents the schoolchildren as a whole but never establishes a personality of her own. This story seems more for adults than children, since students have little to no influence on school policy and don’t need to be informed that test-taking is less fun than art and music. Key repeated words (“fine, fine,” “smart, smart,” “empty, empty, empty,” “sad, sad, sad”) seem extraneous, as does a lot of the text in this word-heavy read-aloud. Detailed illustrations in a muted color palette maintain a somber tone throughout, even under the rambunctious eye of Mr. Keene. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A staid story about the importance of fun. (Picture book. 5-7)

Kirkus Reviews