08/01/2022
From the “brick building with big doors and rectangle windows” where they attend school most days, a bespectacled child with light brown skin wonders, “Where else is school?” Contemplating various types of learning, the narrator mulls over whether school can be found in visits to the zoo or a museum, on hikes with Mom, Nana’s kitchen (“Where I overstuff the potstickers”), or even “when I’m learning things all by myself.” Author-illustrator Peterson, a former teacher, handily indicates an affirmative answer to these questions, and many more. Soft-edged digital art exhibits a plethora of learning opportunities—indoors, outdoors, via remote learning, in the bathtub—fueled by the child’s curiosity and the experiences they share with their loving family, inspiring readers to see “school,” and various types of intelligence, in new ways. Ages 6–8. (May)
"This book is a solid starting point for a conversation on the importance of learning, curiosity, and actively taking part in the world at all times. An excellent purchase for school libraries." —School Library Journal, starred review
"Nails the essence of a good education, the attitude of a lifelong learner, and the many places and opportunities in the world where learning can take place. . . .Readers will be making their own lists, perhaps before the last page is turned. —Kirkus Reviews
"Thought-provoking, inspiring, and likely to resonate with students adjusting to pandemic life." —Booklist
"Inspiring readers to see “school,” and various types of intelligence, in new ways." —Publishers Weekly
★ 08/01/2022
K-Gr 2—In this quiet, message-driven story, young readers are reminded that learning can happen outside of the classroom. As a young boy considers all the reasons he loves school, he wonders where else learning might take place. Could school be in the visit to the zoo or at the aquarium with his classmates, or in the kitchen making pot stickers with his grandma? Does school have to be in a school building with other students, or could it also be alone at home or on the computer screen? Could school even be in the times when a problem needs to be solved and an apology needs to be made? Following the narrator through his day, young readers will see many ways they can continue learning outside of school. With only one sentence per page, the brightly colored cartoon illustrations do the majority of the storytelling. These generally cheerful scenes help maintain a lighter tone, even while discussing a serious, even provocative topic. Of special importance is the author's inclusion of online learning and at-home learning. Some of the more abstract examples, such as school being "in things I've broken," may require a bit of discussion with children. This book is an solid starting point for a conversation on the importance of learning, curiosity, and actively taking part in the world at all times. VERDICT An excellent purchase for school libraries and public libraries with a big homeschooling community; a title to promote to teachers at the beginning of the school year.—Louie Lauer
2022-03-30
A child explores the purpose of school and the many places where that purpose can be fulfilled.
The young narrator enters the school building and talks about what can be found inside—a teacher, desks, students—and the activities that take place there: laughing, writing, creating, solving, stumbling, wondering. Where else is school? The child finds it on class trips to the zoo, aquarium, museum, and pumpkin farm. School is the bathtub where the protagonist experiments with things that float and sink. In a nod to the pandemic, “Sometimes school is on my screen.” It’s in Nana’s kitchen, at Papa’s workbench, on the shelf at the library, outside in nature. It’s found in life lessons learned and time spent with loved ones. “School is wherever I am.” Without spelling it out and spiraling into didacticism, the author nails the essence of a good education, the attitude of a lifelong learner, and the many places and opportunities in the world where learning can take place. The brightly colored artwork portrays the child’s many emotions—confusion when faced with a math problem, the thrill of creation in art class, fierce concentration when making potstickers. The child has tan skin and dark brown hair; the other students are diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Readers will be making their own lists, perhaps before the last page is turned. (Picture book. 4-8)
