Learning

by Courtney Bush

A sincere, funny, and insightful novella from poet and filmmaker Courtney Bush.

Learning is a woman’s account of a single Monday working in a progressive New York City day care. The narrator, Courtney, spends her days in The Blue Room guiding her three-year-old students through the early lessons of their lives. Her consciousness flickers between the children—full of generosity, wonder, accidental brilliance, and infinite questions—and her life outside the classroom. While tying shoes and peeling clementines, Courtney returns to grief over the death of a hometown friend; her recent divorce; the hope of a new relationship; her family back in Mississippi; and thoughts on forgiveness, empathy, and her own capacity for cruelty. As the day goes on, a threat from the school director’s ex-boyfriend introduces real danger, tilting the fragile order of the classroom toward chaos.

Deeply felt and bracingly honest, Learning enacts the complexity of consciousness, itself a balance of presence, memory, risk-calculation, observation, imagination, and emergency.

Genres: Fiction, Literary Fiction, Contemporary

150 pages, Paperback

First published June 23, 2026

Reviews

[Kait · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every once in a while you read a book that makes you feel more whole, even just a little. This was one of those books for me.

We follow Courtney through one day at the daycare in New York City, weaving in and out of her thoughts. The kids at the daycare, her divorce, her best friend who passed, a new guy she is seeing... It's a lot to juggle in one day, and Bush never drops the ball.

What I loved most was how much attention Courtney (and her coworker Whitney) pay to the children. The small things they notice before the day even starts and the private shorthand they've built for the kids' personalities and moods was some of the most tender writing I've come across.

Poets don't always translate well into fiction, but Bush pulls it off here, spectacularly and a little peculiarly. I don't know how she captures a stream of consciousness we all experience but never quite see written down like this. It reminded me a little of The Red Tenda of Bologna by John Berger, another book where the whole point is just being inside of someone's wandering, associative mind. Bush's Learning is funnier and messier, but both are held together by that same wandering attention.

This tender and unusual novella is one I'd recommend to anyone.

Thank you to Joyland Publishing and NetGalley for the advance copy.

[Zahra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Banger. “Is it real or did it come from inside your brain? The internal screen stays lit, always.”

[Jillian Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew the moment I read the dedication I would love this book. I was right.

What a love letter to the chaos, overstimulation, love, learning, and depth required to be a childcare worker or teacher. I feel so seen in this; I loved it.

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not being dramatic for once, this has completely changed me, awakened something still and special that I lost when I was a child, I thought I couldn’t hold it or see it but now it’s in my hands as this beautiful little book. I wanted to highlight every word with the scented highlighters that I was addicted to in 4th grade and I just might. Urgent, reverent, laugh out loud funny and completely precious. Throw me over your shoulder and let’s keep going

[Fizzah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I sometimes wonder about how teachers are changed by the hours they spend with their students, and what childhood in general has to teach adults. I had high hopes for this book from the perspective of a childcare worker in New York!

Unfortunately I did not find its insights particularly original: Children have strong desires; children are learning about the boundaries between themselves and others; children are more complex than adults give them credit for, etc. I think the problem is that this book reads sometimes as self-help and at other times like dry field notes. The narration of the children’s interactions are monotonous, and the writing is filled with awkward phrases like “a culture rooted in custom and tradition” (Isn’t that what culture is??) and metaphors I didn’t find necessary (e.g. “ Some things were not renewable, parts of yourself could not grow back. We are not starfish”).

And while the book is set up with various threads—from a friend‘s death to a burgeoning relationship—some of these threads are lost halfway through. Others fail to be wrapped up. I found this odd considering how neat and formulaic the book otherwise is, literally building towards the appearance of a cartoonish villain by the ridiculous name of “Mike Rott.” Speaking of Rott, the book never fully condemns the director Elena's mismanagement of the center and the staff members' willingness to comply with her at the expense of the children.

Has its life-affirming moments but overall I can’t understand this book's Goodreads rating.

[Fiona W · Rating 5 out of 5]

O to be an early childhood educator who is also a writer in NYC! Full of beauty in a way that helped me remember the beauty of my life!

[Claire Hopple · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful, funny, relevant. There’s a lot to learn here, and she’s very subtle and original about it.

[Jordana Solomon · Rating 5 out of 5]

easily the best book i’ve ever read. captures the weirdness and wonder and wisdom of children and the teetering edge of crying/singing that is being amongst them and in this world. my new bible

[Steven Christofferson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such an interesting and different read. No chapters, no quotation marks, no separation of conversation. And yet it all flows beautifully into a tale of love and life. A surprisingly enjoyable read!

[Matt Bender · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very charming. Learning follows a mid-30s teacher at a preschool through a day taking care of 4-year-olds as she reflects on her job and life. The children are central characters and it’s a detailed and funny slice of life about being a childcare professional. Almost of all of the teachers have advanced degrees and the novella veers from being a window into a unique profession that is the backbone of modern society into a bit of a standard Bildungsroman about an educated woman in NYC at times. But the adult characters a quirky and sound so it still works as that too.

Bush also uses the narrative to make several more philosophical points about how working with children can transform how someone observes and communicates. Any parent would agree with this in general, but Bush makes some precise points about how it requires observing without assuming and and how adults would benefit from being less scared and more curious—“Being with children is a process of letting things end and leaving them behind. We cannot bring up what has just occurred, those difficult moments, the aggressions. Once you’ve found peace you must never return. … You stay with the child and let them know you’re there too. And me and you, how can we get out of this mess? How can we feel better? This is one thing to learn from the child. You move forward only. You move forward into feeling, into the bad place, you move forward so that you can move through and emerge back into the day. You release, so that you can access more life …”

[Skye Eppel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really cute, quick read. Stream of conscious writing style with no quotation marks, which isn’t always good, but was perfect for what this book was trying to accomplish. I really enjoyed this

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

At first, I found myself relating to Courtney. I’m the same age and although I don’t work with 3-4 year olds, I’m a high school teacher so I thought this would be a great read. And at first it was!

But then the author spent time and pages summarizing Moana. And I was like why is she spending so much time on Moana? It’s a good movie but not to the point that she describes it in detail.

And when the school director’s boyfriend arrives, Elena was completely unprofessional. The teachers unfortunately handled the situation incorrectly and it made me wonder how the author works in childcare and wrote herself (I think) as not taking the right steps and precautions. If this is somehow based on a true story I really hope that daycare shut down due to it being super unprofessional. Like how can you not call the police and listen to Elena when she says not to? I’d be calling the police ASAP and notifying the daycare immediately.

[Lexie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was physically painful

[booksontherunway • Melody · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75.

[Alex Pritchett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, I really liked how she wrote about the perspective of children and how interacting with kids all day shaped her perspectives. There were really good concepts, stories and ideas that were never fully developed and flushed out though. I am stuck between 3.5 and 4 stars. I feel like this book could have been so much better had it been built out more and was less stream of consciousness.

[Marianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A devastatingly beautiful book. I love Courtney’s writing style. She seamlessly threads through observations, thoughts, ideas, and memories existing between the worlds outside the classroom and within. This book is a reminder of the innocence we’re born with and how that washes away over time, a guiding portal into how our inherent goodness might wholly depend on acknowledging our inner child. I am already planning to reread this year. Highly recommend.

[Bridget · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️s
I loved the one day timeline and found a lot of parts funny and relatable, as I also work in the school setting. I do wish that dialouge was in quotes or italicized for a more seamless reading experience.

"The children wouldn't even remember me in a few years. This is the fate of those of us who take care of other people's children. Like throwing away my most valuable worldly possessions, like a Zen master, I throw my love away by giving it to other people's children. I love them in the present, knowing there will be no returns in the future. Unlike a parent, I do not cultivate the kind of love I want back later. I cultivate my own love, then pass it out like cut flowers."

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a teacher I went into this book with high expectations. I wanted to love it, but sadly it just wasn’t engaging. Also, the lack of quotation marks took a while to get used to and I had reread several times to understand who was speaking. I know this is trendy right now, but it’s not a trend I can get behind.

[Denisele · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short, kind of stream of consciousness book from a day care teacher's point of view. I appreciated several of the descriptions of learning - I never thought about it as hard or scary or humiliating before, but now that is something I will continue to think about. I always like a book that has something to stick with me like that.

[Emily Herron · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. It perfectly captures the stream-of-consciousness mind of a teacher while also capturing you in the story. There were moments I laughed out loud and moments that were profound.

[Justine Hecker · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really lovely meditation on life, relationships, aging, death, all set against the backdrop of a seemingly normal day in a NYC preschool classroom

Funny, sharp and filled with so much warmth and heart

[Drew E · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Learning is important, but it doesn’t feel good. And you can never tell if what you’re learning will make any of it better or worse. And you can learn too much too fast, or not enough, and too slow, and it never stops coming. You know what I mean sweetheart?”

Finished in one sitting. Really good! Kind of wanted more. I feel I am the Sammy of my own life.

[Claudia Greening · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this. I found it to be concise in a compelling way.

[Kendall Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so different from everything else I’ve read this year. I really enjoyed it! The author really works in childcare and it really shows. The way she writes about children is so insightful

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Life is

[Michaela Wick · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Learning is important, but it doesn’t feel good, and you can never tell if what you’re learning will make any of it better or worse. And you can learn too much too fast, or not enough, and too slow, and it never stops coming. You know what I mean, sweetheart?”

[Olivia Barnett · Rating 5 out of 5]

An unexpected 5 star read! I wouldn’t say it’s for everyone, but I’ll be thinking about this one for a while.

[SARA Winnick · Rating 5 out of 5]

She gets it

[Olivia Adrianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

An insane and immersive day told by the author. Holy.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 🌟
A beautiful, meandering read about the day in the life of a preschool teacher in NYC.