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A Fine, Fine School is the story
of Mr. Keene, an overly-enthusiastic principal who
loves his school so much that he wants more and more
and more school: first on Saturdays, then on Sundays,
then on holidays, then in the summer. The students
and the teachers do not want to go to school on Saturdays
or Sundays or holidays or in the summer, but no one
knows how to tell Mr. Keene that. He is so proud of
the students and the teachers. This is also the story
of Tillie, a young girl who attends this fine, fine
school. It is up to Tillie to show Mr. Keene that
even though this school is a fine one, it is not fine,
fine to be there all the time!
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| I think the story is amusing on its own, but I find Harry Bliss' illustrations really funny. He's made Tillie's dog into a great character, and he also shows the increasingly encumbered students toting enormous backpacks and books like Ridiculously Difficult Algebra and The Meaning of Life. There are so many funny things going on in each picture. Harry Bliss is a celebrated New Yorker cover artist and cartoonist. This is his first picture book.
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My husband is a headmaster, and we live on a school
campus. My husband loves his school and is an enthusiastic
advocate for it, full of pride for the students, teachers
and staff. Because this school is both a day-and-boarding
school, school hours are not limited to eight-to-three
Monday through Friday. There are also meetings and
events and activities in the evenings and on weekends.
I think that sometimes everyone feels as if there
is a little too much school! I thought I'd take a
light-hearted look at this. What if there were even
more school? What if a headmaster or principal loved
his school so much that he required more. . .and more.
. .and more?
People often ask, do Harry and I have our own experiences of fine, fine
schools?
Sharon Creech: "When I was a teacher in Europe, my husband was the
headmaster and our children attended that school," Creech says, "Although it
was a fine, fine school, there were days when we all wished there was time
to lie in the grass and look at the clouds."
Harry Bliss: "Each day, I pick up my son, Alex, from school," Bliss says. "I
always get a kick out of the expressions of exhilaration on the kids' faces
when the bell rings, sending them off and running. But it's so cold here in
northern Vermont that most of the kids head straight home to a fine, fine
cup of hot chocolate."
Sharon Creech reading to granddaughter, Pearl
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