A Fine, Fine School

Rating:
Summary: A Fine, Fine Book
Review: An exuberent principal at a small school is the crucial element of this hilarious book. The principal, in awe of the schools "fine-fineness" decides to have school on Saturdays..then on Sundays as well. Soon there is school on all holidays, vacations and breaks. School hours are extended, lunchtimes/recess is shortened. But the students have no time to spend with family. What will they do? With hilarious illustrations, and a humorous plot, this book yields to deep belly laughs by both kids and adults. If you have a child between the ages of 6 and 16, I strongly reccomend that this book be on your shelves. It reminds you that it could ALWAYS get worse!

Rating:
Summary: A Fine, Fine Book
Review: An exuberent principal at a small school is the crucial element of this hilarious book. The principal, in awe of the schools "fine-fineness" decides to have school on Saturdays..then on Sundays as well. Soon there is school on all holidays, vacations and breaks. School hours are extended, lunchtimes/recess is shortened. But the students have no time to spend with family. What will they do? With hilarious illustrations, and a humorous plot, this book yields to deep belly laughs by both kids and adults. If you have a child between the ages of 6 and 16, I strongly reccomend that this book be on your shelves. It reminds you that it could ALWAYS get worse!

Rating:
Summary: A spry and funny book
Review: Author Sharon Creech uses simple sentences in bold type to make this children's picturebook all the more emphatic, while the iconic artwork adds warmth and humor to the story. An overzealous principal feels that he runs such a "fine, fine school" that classes should extend to weekends, holidays, summer, and night... putting the overworked schoolchildren in a bind. It's up to Tille to show her well-intentioned principal that there are other places for a young person to be that are just as important. A Fine, Fine School is a spry and funny book that makes for lively reading.

Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite books
Review: I liked this book because of two reasons. It teaches you that it's good to go to school and learn things, but there are some things that you can only learn at home. I also like this book because the pictures are very funny especially of the dog. The principal's name is Mr. Keene. He said that they should go to school first on Saturdays, then Sundays, then holidays and then summer - every single day. On the first day of summer, Tillie set off to school. She went into Mr. Keenes's office and told him that not everyone was learning. Mr. Keene was disappointed. What Tillie said convinced Mr. Keene that children should stay home more. On the second day of summer, Mr. Keene called another meeting. He said that we are all learning things in this fine, fine school, but not everyone is learning. There are some dogs that need to learn how to sit and jump over creeks and fetch sticks. There are also younger brothers and sisters who need to learn to skip and swing. He said that from this day on they would not have school on Saturdays and Sundays and Holidays and summer. So the fine, fine children and fine, fine teachers screamed so loud it floated out the windows so everyone in the town could hear it. Guess what they said? Fine, Fine, Fine!
This is also a good book for children with glasses because the the main character, Tillie, and several other students have glasses.

Rating:
Summary: What would happen if you have to go to school 365 days!?
Review: I would be mad, going crazy. It's totally nonsense to think of going school on Saturday(now in Japan we have to go partially on Saturday), Sunday, holiday, and summer vacation! And a dearest principal actually did. Nobody couldn't stop hom. Why? Because he deeply loved his fine students, his fine teachers, and his fine school.
What a mess! We just need a brave and kind girl who can teach him how to correctly love students, teachers, and school.
Imagine there's no worrying about school-starts-again at the end of summer vacation!!! Terrible. I wouldn't stand it.

Rating:
Summary: A Fine,Fine School.
Review: If you want a good book to read I've got one for you. It's A Fine,Fine School.It's about a girl who has to go to school for the whole year! Even her dog has to go to school. She didn't even get to play with her little brother.They even had to brush their teeth at school. They didn't even get a summer vacation.I liked this book because even the dog had to go to school. It's by Sharon Creech.I made a 100 on this book.I hope you zoom right through this book and make a 100 too.

Rating:
Summary: Fine as fish hair
Review: The pairing of children's author superstar Sharon Creech (Newbery winner "Walk Two Moons" anyone?) and New Yorker cartoonist Harry Bliss (the modern equivalent of Margaret Bloy Graham of "Harry the Dirty Dog" fame) was not an intuitive one. It was not a given that these two wunderkinds would find one another and produce, for the world, "A Fine, Fine School". It was even less of a given that the book would turn out to be as good as it was. It's just nice that it worked out that way.

We are introduced to the bespectacled Tillie, her oddly unnamed toddler brother, and her dog Beans. We are also introduced to Mr. Keene, the kind of guy whose first name is probably "Peachy". Mr. Keene is the principal of Tillie's school and he is just overwhelmed with delight at his fine children, their fine teachers (no winking), and the fine fine school they all work and learn in. Mr. Keene is so delighted, in fact, that one day he calls all the students and teachers together and proposes that the school be open on Saturdays too. The kids and teacher are, needless to say, not thrilled with this notion. Mr. Keene has apparently never heard of there being too much of a good thing, so he quickly makes Sundays mandatory school days as well. Next, holidays are abandoned, making this the first picture book I have ever seen containing the phrase, "Easter Schmeaster". Finally (amid much rending of hair, tears, and lapses into unconsciousness), Mr. Keene declares the summer to be a time of learning as well. Tillie, for her part, has been unable to help her little brother learn and play. It's up to her to explain, kindly, to the cheery Mr. Keene the flaws in his delightful plans.

The story, in and of itself, is fine. I mean, it's a novel idea to have a sympathetic principal character who does increasingly well-intentioned but blundering things. Also, this is the first children's book I read where the children have to take summer school because they're doing so WELL. Honestly, however, there's not much to say about the plot. I like Sharon Creech, but nothing in this storyline really blows me away. Harry Bliss's illustrations on the other hand...

Now, I should preface this a little. I grew up reading a heckuva lot of Steven Kellogg growing up. I was entranced with any picture book artist that could slip a million tiny details into an illustration that would later be found and poured over by children worldwide. I continue to be entranced by such artists to this very day, and Harry Bliss has become one of my new favorites. Under his guidance this fine fine school moves from simply being okay to becoming fabulous. Kids in it read books like, "Catcher in the Rye" and "Pleasing the Ghost". They define words like "futurism" and "cubism" and construct nine feet tall dinosaurs out of paper mache. In Bliss's world the dog Beans is near human, reading New York Times articles on Al Hirschfeld and drinking coffee. Heck, every picture in this book has a million different little details and delights to discover. Mr. Keene is the ultimate happy-go-lucky guy. The kind of fellow so nice and sweet that no one has the heart to actually come out and say that school on week-ends, holidays, and in the summer might be a bad idea. And when he announces that school will no longer fall on those days, Bliss taps into the joy and energy kids feel on the last day of school. There's a whole lot of joy going on in this book's finish.

The best way to tell if this is the kind of book your kid will enjoy is to flip through it yourself. Just take a look at the illustrations for a moment. Spend some time with this tale. If you don't find yourself charmed and delighted after a few minutes of sifting through it then this book will probably do nothing for you or your child. But if you find yourself intrigued and delighted, snatch it up tout suite and give it to a child who'll appreciate it. This is a book that understands the worthiness of school, and the ecstasy of not having to go.


Rating:
Summary: A School That Always Had School
Review: This book was recently read to me at a teachers' conference. The real message in the story is that learning doesn't only happen in school--it happens everywhere! What a wake up call to parents and guardians!

Rating:
Summary: True Meaning of Learning
Review: This book was recently read to me at a teachers' conference. The real message in the story is that learning doesn't only happen in school--it happens everywhere! What a wake up call to parents and guardians!

Rating:
Summary: A School That Always Had School
Review: This story is about a school that was so fine they had school everyday, even on holidays. The book has great writing and sensational illustrations. How would you feel if you had school everyday? I know I wouldn't like it.