Schu's debut picture book salutes the school community and the positive role it plays in kids' lives. Jamison's watercolor, acrylic, and digital-collage illustrations employ a sunny palette, well suited to the text's upbeat tone. Schu emphasizes the school as a community, where growth, celebrations, transformations, and work all occur, providing a reassuring introduction to this near-universal experience. --Booklist (starred review) Librarian and book advocate Schu invites readers into a school community in which all voices are heard, each person learns, and everyone--and everything, including the plants in the school garden--grows. This introduction to school communities shows children what happens inside a classroom via a vision of school at its best--one that leaves readers with a sense of belonging and inclusion. --Publishers Weekly A soaring panegyric to elementary school as a communal place to learn and grow. the central message here is that school is a physical space, not a virtual one, where learning and community happen. A full-hearted valentine.

--Kirkus Reviews This book is so beautiful! I can see the love, joy, inclusion, and empathy on every single page. What a gift this is for kids, educators, and families. --Supriya Kelkar, children's author of Brown is Beautiful John Schu's story serves as a letter to schools and addresses how its members are still a community, whether they are together in the classroom or not. --Tiny Beans Well suited for both independent reading as well as a read aloud. Full spread illustrations showing the whole community mix with smaller, more intimate portrayals of kids and adults hard at work, providing strong movement throughout the story. This is a solid choice for classrooms and libraries looking for updated beginning of the year or school stories. --School Library Journal.