Rain School

It is the first day of school in Chad, Africa. Children are filling the road. 
"Will they give us a notebook?" Thomas asks.
"Will they give us a pencil?”
"Will I learn to read?"

But when he and the other children arrive at the schoolyard, they find no classroom, no desks. Just a teacher. "We will build our school," she says. "This is our first lesson."

     James Rumford, who lived in Chad as a Peace Corps volunteer, fills these pages with the vibrant colors of Africa and the spare words of a poet to show how important learning is in a country where only a few children are able to go to school. 

Children's Literature

The first day of school in a little village in Chad has far different meaning to the local children than it would to their American counterparts. These children build their school from scratch before they can start to learn. Mud walls and desks must be constructed. Grass must be gathered and spread for a roof. The very desire to have an education involves hard, physical labor. The children are up to the task, and their combined effort will lead to a good discussion of working as a group to achieve a goal. Once the school is built, the enthusiastic and supportive teacher starts teaching, first without tools but then with minimal supplies. A pencil and notebook are great gifts for these children. At the end of the school year, the rainy season starts and the school literally "washes away." The children, however, have learned their lessons and will begin again next year. This is an awesome way to discuss the value of education as children study the eager faces of African students and the importance they attach to the rudimentary tools of learning. Children can compare and contrast the ease with which they come to school in sturdy buildings, well equipped with new school supplies. This is a celebration of education that can provide an excellent lesson in cultural differences, geography and hopefully, gratitude for the bounty of the American classroom. Reviewer: Lois Rubin Gross

Master storyteller James Rumford combines his love for art and history in his picture books. Each of his books is vastly different in its content, design, and illustrations but one aspect remains constant throughout his work: his passion about his subjects. Rumford, a resident of Hawaii, has studied more than a dozen languages and worked in the Peace Corps, where he traveled to Africa, Asia, and Afghanistan. He draws from these experiences and the history of his subject when he is working on a book. His book Sequoyah: The Cherokee Man Who Gave His People Writing was a 2005 Sibert Honor winner.