School

Title: Our Class Is A Country

Author: Andria W. Rosenbaum

Illustrator: Dream Chen

Publisher/Year: Albert Whitman & Company/2023

Favorite Line from the Book: Our class is a country with no room for hate.

I believe wholeheartedly that the following expression, which I’m sure many of you have heard before, is true: The opposite of love isn’t hate. It’s fear. People are afraid of many things, including, but not limited to, things that are different or things we don’t understand. Sadly, fear is expressed in hateful ways.

I’m truly baffled that, in 2023, people still treat others with contempt, cruelty, and hostility instead of trying to learn more about each other or understand one another. My hope is that the majority of people in this country and around the world know that we don’t always have to agree with or be like others in order to treat them with kindness, respect, and love. Young children know this instinctively. They’re curious about other kids and interested in making friends. They don’t care about differences.

Today’s review features a lovely, rhyming picture book by Andria W. Rosenbaum that epitomizes the idea of treating others with love and kindness. Often, school-themed picture books are about a new student or the child’s first day of school, but I like that Our Class Is A Country turns that idea around. It’s the teacher who’s new, and the diverse group of enthusiastic classmates bands together to welcome her by sharing various activities and taking her through their day. They sing, eat, play, garden, work, and create happily together.

Andria’s text flows so effortlessly and is a pleasure to read. Illustrator Dream Chen’s art is colorful and fun and features a charming cast of diverse children, as you can see by the cover above. The pictures are a nice accompaniment to the words, and kids will be delighted by both. Here’s an excerpt from Our Class Is A Country:

We’re spices! We’re colors! We’re soup in a bowl.

Our class is a country with flavor and soul.

This book is a great choice for storytimes or read-alouds in schools, libraries, or at home. As a bonus, back matter offers different ways to say hello in languages other than English, reflecting eight of the kids depicted in the story. Just like the kids within welcome their new teacher with thoughtfulness and love, Our Class Is A Country encourages every reader to do the same for all those with whom we cross paths. And if everyone treated everyone else with kindness, love, and respect, instead of fear and hate, how amazing would that be?!

In my position as a technical processing assistant at the DeWitt Community Library, I catalog a lot of new picture books. Unfortunately, I cannot review them all, but I do try to read them all. Below are a few I’ve cataloged recently. I have assigned a 🙂 to my favorites. (Whenever possible, summaries have been taken directly from the books.)

Whether your kids are just starting school or are going back to school, don’t forget to put picture books at the top of your school supply list.

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🙂 Three children from other countries (Somalia, Guatemala, and Korea) struggle to adjust to their new home and school in the United States.

🙂 Sisters Maple and Willow miss each other when Maple starts school, leaving Willow behind at home.

🙂 Murphy is full of excuses for staying home from school but his father has a cure for each of them until Murphy finally gives in–and Dad reminds him it is Saturday.

Everyone knows geese don’t go to school. So when Sophie hears flappy footsteps in class, it can’t be Goose, can it?

When Mommy and Daddy take Jake and Jenny back-to-school shopping, they are determined to stick to their list but when Mommy steps away, requests for items not on the list abound, including one from Daddy.

Sadie, who is about to start second grade, decides it is up to her to make sure her little sister, Eva, is ready for Kindergarten.

Birdie is both excited and nervous about starting school, but once she sees the classroom and meets her teacher, she knows that everything will be fine.

After he finds a brand new shiny penny, Theodore has a perfect day in Kindergarten.

School is for kids, not for dogs. But Stanley is curious. What do the kids do in school all day?

It’s Bear’s first day of school, and he’s a bit reluctant to go. Mama says all bears love school; Bear isn’t so sure. But school turns out to be full of fun–painting pictures, listening to stories, and making new friends. Maybe this bear will like school after all.

Ginny Louise stands up to bullying by the Truman Elementary Troublemakers and wins them over with her unwavering cheerfulness.

🙂 On Flo’s first day of preschool, her lunch bucket is lost…and a new friend is found!

As the talent show nears, Penny and her trusty canine companion Jelly scramble to find Penny’s talent.

Rose wants to get a star on Mrs. Benson’s blackboard, but sometimes her mind wanders, she doesn’t always know the right answers, and her reading-aloud voice is too quiet.