  | Full Text Reviews: School Library Journal - 08/01/2015 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 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Booklist - 10/01/2015 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 work—a 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. - Copyright 2015 Booklist. Loading...
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