This Is My Home, This Is My School

July 20, 2015
Bean (Big Snow) offers a humorous and informative view of a homeschooling household. The boy who narrates—inspired by Bean himself, as family photos at the end make clear—stands amid a flock of chickens and addresses readers. “This is my home,” he says. When the page turns, he’s still there. “And this is my school.” Bean’s scribbly pen-and-ink style is perfectly suited for the liveliness of a home in which the living room is both a place to relax and a classroom, the kitchen is the cafeteria, and the family car is also the school bus. The living room is packed with papers, animals, plants, and furniture; it takes some effort to locate the teacher (his mother) and her pupils (the boy and his sisters). Bean shows the children canning fruit, playing music, and doing field biology in a creek: “We have a lot of classrooms,” he explains. Children whose classrooms are heavily regimented and lit with fluorescents will envy the family; it’s clear that it’s easier to learn in a place that feels like home. Ages 3–6. Agent: Elizabeth Harding, Curtis Brown.

August 1, 2015
The family from Building Our House (2013) returns, but this time their son tells readers all about life as a home-schooled kid. As the author's note explains, Bean draws upon childhood experiences to give readers a peek into the day-to-day life of the family. His mom is his teacher, and his three sisters are his classmates, the "cafeteria" is the kitchen table, and just about any place can be a "classroom." When the teacher gets tired, she calls for help, and "the substitute teacher" (his dad) takes over. The sub also leads shop class, phys ed, and helps with homework (yardwork)-a list of duties that feels rather rigid in its adherence to strict gender roles, but at least the girls all participate in these activities as well. Bean employs a looser, more naive artistic style here than in Building Our House, and it nicely matches the enthusiastic narration. The family is depicted as an industrious, curious, creative crew, with successive spreads revealing busy scenes of activity and inquiry. The ultimate message of the book seems to be that home schooling, at its best, positions learning as the stuff of life. Every place and every moment holds potential for learning, a message likely to resonate with many home-schooling families while also giving a window into this way of life for others. Home sweet school. (Picture book. 4-8)

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Starred review from August 1, 2015

PreS-Gr 1-In his second semi-autobiographical picture book, Bean introduces young audiences to one family's homeschooling experience. The well-paced narrative draws clear connections between the details of a traditional school environment-with a teacher, a cafeteria, and classrooms-and a homeschool setting-Mom and Dad are the teachers, the kitchen becomes the lunch room, and the house, the yard, the nearby pond, and the garage are all used as classrooms. In Bean's depiction of homeschooling, every moment of the day becomes a chance to learn, from outdoor art classes to evening star-gazing to the "homework" of helping out with farm chores. Watercolor illustrations with loosely defined borders perfectly capture the jumbled chaos of a dual-purpose household, while pen-and-ink lines and plenty of white space provide definition and space for viewers to take in the many details. In this home, towering piles of books, scattered papers, and canning jars share space with butterfly nets, chemistry beakers, and art supplies, reinforcing the family's philosophy that every experience has educational possibilities. The simple sentence structure and vocabulary make this a great choice for emerging readers, and the strong sense of place, anchoring the school experience to a family's beloved home while also opening it up to embrace the wider world, will resonate with young children just beginning to navigate the home/school divide. VERDICT Bean's introduction to a free-spirited yet structured homeschool lifestyle offers a warm and accessible perspective on an increasingly common educational choice rarely seen in children's books. A first purchase.-Chelsea Couillard-Smith, Hennepin County Library, MN

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2015
Preschool-G In this companion book to Building Our House (2013), Bean again draws on his family's experiences, this time to depict a family that is homeschooled. Jonathan, the young narrator, shows that their school has an extensive curriculum, with various rooms of the house and parts of the property serving as classrooms. The text is serene, while the bustling illustrations show the (mostly) happy family engaged in a nearly overwhelming number of enticing activities. This has some of the feel of the earlier worka matter-of-fact tone, a loving family involved in unusual endeavors; however, the style of the artwork is much looser, and the story lacks the same degree of comfort and charm. Though the text is brief, it gives the impression that it was actually created by the young narrator, and the splashy watercolors lend energy to each page. This will delight homeschooled children, who will identify with Jonathan and his sisters, and captivate others not familiar with the homeschooled experience.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)