Picture Books for Older Readers ~ A Fine, Fine School

Book Cover Photo Source, Barnes and Noble: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Fine-Fine-School/Sharon-Creech/e/9780060007287/?itm=2, accessed May 6, 2009.

Bibliography

Creech, Sharon. 2001. A FINE, FINE SCHOOL. Ill. by Harry Bliss. New York: Harper Collins Publishers. ISBN 006027736X

Summary

Tillie loves school. But she also loves Saturdays and Sundays when she can climb her favorite tree, take her dog on walks and teach him how to catch sticks, and show her brother how to skip and swing on the swing. Then her Principal, Mr. Keene, decides that the students should go to school on Saturdays and Sundays, and then holidays and even in the summer. The kids all love Mr. Keene so much that they hate to disappoint him, so they go along with him. But when he asks Tillie about how much she is learning she tells him that although she is learning some amazing things, not everyone is learning. Mr. Keene becomes worried, and asks her to identify exactly who isn't learning and he will see to it that they do. Tillie replies, "My dog beans, hasn't learned how to sit, and he hasn't learned how to jump over the creek. And my little brother hasn't learned to swing or skip. And I haven't learned how to climb very high in my tree or how to sit in it for a whole hour." After Tillie's explanation, Mr. Keene wanders through the halls looking at the children and the teachers and seeing how miserable they all look, he finally realizes that more isn't always better.

Reviews

BOOK MAGAZINE: "Teachers and students will cheer at this funny story about a real problem in modern education. Tillie likes school, but she also likes her weekends playing with her younger brother and dog. However, her enthusiastic principal believes that, since school is so beneficial, more school days would be even better for kids. The principal decides to add Saturdays to the schedule, then Sundays and so on, until Tillie opens his eyes to the value of playing and learning things outside of school. The illustrations are the perfect complement to this gentle satire about education run amok."

KIRKUS REVIEWS: "School can be peachy, but that doesn't mean time away from school isn't just as valuable, which is the lesson Principal Keene has to learn in this charming story of a school administrator utterly rapt in his job. Mr. Keene just can't get enough of his fine school with all that fine learning being taught by the fine teachers to the fine students. So he decides to have school on Saturday, then Sunday, then on holidays, then the whole year through: "He was so proud of the students and the teachers, of all the learning they were doing every day." Literally. But the students and teachers aren't so sanguine about the situation, though no one wanted to prick Mr. Keene's balloon. Until Tillie finally tells him that some others are not learning because of all the school, like her dog, who hasn't learned how to sit, or her little brother, who hasn't learned how to swing or skip, because she's never home to teach them. Indeed, she hasn't learned to climb a tree for all the classroom time she's been putting in. Mr. Keene sees the light, beveling his enthusiasm and putting his good intentions into perspective."

LIBRARY JOURNAL: "PreS-Gr 3-This charming tale by Sharon Creech (HarperCollins, 2003) tells of an exuberant principal who is so pleased with his student's achievements that he extends the school day to include weekends, holidays, and the summer. A young student, Tillie, convinces him that there are important things that kids can learn outside the classroom as well. Perhaps it is not so fine to be at school all of the time. "