A Fine, Fine School: A Funny Picture Book About a Principal Who Loves School Too Much for Kids

by Sharon Creech, Harry Bliss (Illustrator)

One day, Mr. Keene called all the students and teachers together and said, "This is a fine, fine school! From now on, let's have school on Saturdays too." And then there was more.

School all weekend. School on the holidays.

School in the SUMMER!

What was next . . .

SCHOOL AT NIGHT?

So it's up to Tillie to show her well-intentioned principal, Mr. Keene, that even though his fine, fine school is a wonderful place, it's not fine, fine to be there all the time.

Genres: Picture Books, School, Childrens, Fiction, Humor, Realistic Fiction, Back To School

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

I was born in South Euclid, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, and grew up there with my noisy and rowdy family: my parents (Ann and Arvel), my sister (Sandy), and my three brothers (Dennis, Doug and Tom).

For a fictional view of what it was like growing up in my family, see Absolutely Normal Chaos. (In that book, the brothers even have the same names as my own brothers.) Our house was not only full of us Creeches, but also full of friends and visiting relatives.

In the summer, we usually took a trip, all of us piled in a car and heading out to Wisconsin or Michigan or, once, to Idaho. We must have been a very noisy bunch, and I'm not sure how our parents put up with being cooped up with us in the car for those trips. The five-day trip out to Idaho when I was twelve had a powerful effect on me: what a huge and amazing country! I had no idea then that thirty-some years later, I would recreate that trip in a book called Walk Two Moons.

One other place we often visited was Quincy, Kentucky, where my cousins lived (and still live) on a beautiful farm, with hills and trees and swimming hole and barn and hayloft. We were outside running in those hills all day long, and at night we'd gather on the porch where more stories would be told. I loved Quincy so much that it has found its way into many of my books—transformed into Bybanks, Kentucky. Bybanks appears in Walk Two Moons, Chasing Redbird, and Bloomability. Bybanks also makes a brief appearance (by reference, but not by name) in The Wanderer.

When I was young, I wanted to be many things when I grew up: a painter, an ice skater, a singer, a teacher, and a reporter. It soon became apparent that I had little drawing talent, very limited tolerance for falling on ice, and absolutely no ability to stay on key while singing. I also soon learned that I would make a terrible reporter because when I didn't like the facts, I changed them. It was in college, when I took literature and writing courses, that I became intrigued by story-telling. Later, I was a teacher (high school English and writing) in England and in Switzerland. While teaching great literature, I learned so much about writing: about what makes a story interesting and about techniques of plot and characterization and point of view. I started out writing novels for adults (published as Sharon Rigg): The Recital and Nickel Malley were both written and published while I was living in England (these books were published in England only and are now out of print.) But the next book was Absolutely Normal Chaos, and ever since that book I have written mainly about young people. Walk Two Moons was the first of my books to be published in America. When it received the Newbery Medal, no one was more surprised than I was. I'm still a little bit in shock.

After Walk Two Moons came Chasing Redbird, Pleasing the Ghost, Bloomability, The Wanderer, and Fishing in the Air. I hope to be writing stories for a long, long time.

I am married to Lyle Rigg, who is the headmaster of The Pennington School in Pennington, New Jersey, and have two grown children, Rob and Karin. Being with my family is what I enjoy most. The next-best thing is writing stories.

© Sharon Creech

Reviews

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

For some reason my kids loved this book. Part of it was that we only read half of it before we had to rush off one day, so they begged me to finish it later that night. I actually had stopped at that point for a reason, because this book makes a great point. What is learning? What does it look like? Book learning is great, but that's not all there is to it. This book offers a really interesting way to have that discussion with kids. The pictures are funny and we liked looking at them a lot.
David liked this so much he read it to himself a few more times.

[Hoda Marmar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would rate it 4 stars but my student insisted on giving it 5 stars 😊

[Tatiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

For my first literacy lesson plan of the semester, I chose A Fine, Fine School and the focus skill of making and confirming predictions.

This is a story about Tillie and her school’s principal, Mr. Keene, who increases school days for his “fine, fine” school to include Saturdays, and then Sundays, and then holidays, and then summer, much to the chagrin of the teachers and students. It provides a lesson on the theme of "too much of a good thing can make it unpleasant."

I love Sharon Creech's poetry chapter books, and her flare for rhythm is on display here in the lilting, repetitive narrative and dialogue. Illustrations by Harry Bliss are soft and rounded, putting the reader into that idyllic elementary school setting.

[Isabel Jazmín · Rating 4 out of 5]

Esta es una historia para los más pequeños, acerca de una escuela en donde todo marcha tan bien, que el director amplía la jornada escolar hasta límites insospechados.



Me gustó la sencillez con la que la protagonista ve la situación y cómo decide tomar en sus manos la acción para cambiarla.



Su hermanito y la mascota son los acompañantes perfectos para mostrarnos que hay una vida más allá de la escuela.



Una historia sobre la importancia del descanso y del ocio, sin descuidar las obligaciones escolares

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

My kids thought this was so funny, and also hoped their dad (who is a principal) would never be like the principal in the book. I would pull my child from this fine fine school 🤣

[Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of my favorite picture books as a child. I loved all of the details in the pictures, with the book titles and sticky notes and such. It is definitely a fine, fine book :)

[Joelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fabulous story about a principal who loves his school and teachers and students so much that he decides school should be every day-- weekends, holidays, and even summer break! It takes a wise student named Tillie who reminds the principal that there are all different kinds of learning that happens...sometimes outside of school. A GREAT read aloud!

[Elise · Rating 5 out of 5]

The meaning behind the title of this book is simple, this school is a fine, fine school.

In this book the setting is at a fine, fine school, and it doesn’t give you a lot of clues about the time period, but it seems to be in the twenty-first century. The main character in this book faces the really big conflict of her principal thinking that her school was a very fine one. You might think this would be a good thing, but her principal takes this a little bit to far. He decides that there school is so fine that he wants to have it on Saturday, and then Sunday, and then on the holidays, and then everyday of the summer!
This book is a picture book, and it does not belong to a series. I think that the theme of this book would be that their school is a fine, fine, school.
Overall, I think that this book was great and then I would definitely recommend it to other people who are my age, and different ages!

[Jasmyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr. Keene is the principal at Tillie's School. He's so proud of his fine school, its teachers, and its students that he announces that there will be school every day, all year long. But, Tillie soon points out some serious issues with a year round school year. This is a hilarious story about what happens when the love for learning goes way too far. Tillie has to help remind Mr. Keene that summer is the time for kids to be kids, holidays are meant to be spent at home with family, and that life is about the simple things that bring us small joys. All things that can't happen if we're in school on weekends, on holidays, and all summer. This fine, fine book is definitely one I would like to add to my classroom library.

This would fit under realistic fiction. The idea behind this book is quite amusing, for teachers and students alike. It's witty and the repetitive phrases in the text make it great and fun for a read aloud. This would be great to read aloud to a class full of kindergartners. I can picture the whole class saying at once, "This is such a fine, fine school! I love this school! Let's have more school!" as the teacher reads. This would be a great read aloud for the first day of school to relax all the children and get them laughing, since we know how nervous everyone can be on the first day.

[Jordyn Reddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Fine, Fine School written by Sharon Creech is a short read that has a great message. The story starts off with a character named Tillie, Tillie has a brother who she loves to spend time with. However, time with her brother is cut short when the principal decided that school should be on the weekends and holidays too. The principal believes that school is precious and is proud of his teachers and students for working so hard, but when he realizes that school is taking away from outside learning, he changes school back to only weekdays. The moral of the story is that you are learning in and out of school, and it is important to separate the two.

[Lori Spadea · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for all ages. The story was about a girl who lived with her family, her brother, and her dog Beans and went to school. The school principal was very proud of everyone at the school so he decided to have school on Saturday so they could learn more. No one told him that they didn’t want to. Then he decided that was going so well that he would have school on Sunday, then Holidays, then summer, but no one told him they didn’t want to. Finally Tillie went to the principal and told her that everyone wasn’t learning everything they needed to learn, because she wasn’t learning to climb trees, her brother wasn’t learning to skip, and her dog wasn’t learning to fetch because she was at school all the time. The principal finally realized the value of play and time off of “school learning” and went back to the way it was.
I love the lesson that play is important and that book learning isn’t the only kind of learning we do that is important to our lives. This is a great book for all ages. Lower elementary would enjoy it and upper elementary could help define the lesson. Great book to teach a moral. ☺

[Josiah · Rating 2 out of 5]

As always, Sharon Creech tells this amusing and very fun story with a touch of mirthful class and a smooth undercurrent of understanding of the thoughts of young students.
I particularly enjoyed the little comic asides in the pictures, which are filled with subtle jokes and lots of funny moments. My favorite one of these was right near the beginning of the book, when Tillie is on the bus reading "Pleasing the Ghost", written by you-know-who. :-)
In all, this was a good book that lived up to its origins as a Sharon Creech creation. I would recommend "A Fine, Fine School" to any readers that like a short, lively read.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

One day, Mr. Keene called all the students and teachers together and said, "This is a fine, fine school! From now on, let's have school on Saturdays too." And then there was more. ..weekends, holidays, SUMMER!

So it's up to Tillie to show her well-intentioned principal, Mr. Keene, that even though his fine, fine school is a wonderful place, it's not fine, fine to be there all the time.

I enjoy Sharon Creech and wanted to read her picture book. My kids get worried or hysterical when I read the part about going to school in the summer! Today someone said, "We need a break once in a while!" like I was going to make him really go to school every day in the summer! Funny!

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

My niece loves this book and has read it several times, but this was the first time my nephew and I have read this story. All three of us had a great time with it! It's pretty fun to read out loud; it might seem kind of annoyingly repetitive at first, but the principal is just so giddy about his school and about learning, he just can't overcome his enthusiastic (if repetitive) gushing.

My nephew was very emotionally engaged with the story, groaning with misery and frustration in all the intended places, and gleefully cheering right on cue. It was an entertaining book with a fine, fine lesson, and one I'd not be opposed to reading again.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is good to read to make children think about what would happen if schools were opened 365 days. This book is something that the students could relate to themselves. the illustrations on this book is amazing. As the students starts going to school on the holidays and even on the weekend, the illustrator does an amazing job adding the small details on the book. For example, the reader can notice that there is a toothpaste and toothbrush in one of the student's locker. Most importantly, this book is just fun to read.

[Jana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun picture book that shows us how you can have too much of a good thing. Principal Keene loves his fine, fine school and his fine, fine teachers and students so much, pretty soon everyone is going to school on weekends, holidays and in the summer! Will he come to his senses? Great illustrations support the text.

[Cora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Per my first graders: I learned about school. A lot of school is not fun. (Teacher: Opinion!!! YES!) Everybody is not learning because her brother didn't go to school so she could not teach him to skip. I think her brother needs to go to school with her dog because everyone is not learning. Mr. Keene learned that everyday of school is not good because no one had time for play.

[Brandon Menjivar]

I think this book is well done as in it has really good words for someone to find them or I don't know its about some kids that go to school, and well the school is called this is a fine, fine school. They study all kind of stuff like dragons and stuff like that.

[The Styling Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Fine, Fine School by Sharon Creech, pictures by Harry Bliss – Fabulous book, love Sharon Creech, wonderful school, hilarious storyline, should be shared every year- to lead discussions on balance between school and time at home, learning, need for independence, and more…

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr. Keene, the school principle decided to have school on every day of the week. Although his intentions were meant to be good, they were a little one-sided. It's up to a student named Tillie to help Mr. Keene see the error of his good intentions.

[Shelby · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is a good book and i didnt know that this book was wrote by sharon creech

[Colby Sharp · Rating 5 out of 5]

I must read this book aloud to my fourth graders.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used this book to teach the signpost "Again and Again" to my 4th and 5th grade students.

[Cosette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some days I think my kids need to attend a fine, fine school every fine, fine day of the year.

[Bailey Vernon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr. Keene is a principal who loves his fine school, fine students, and fine teachers and the fine learning that takes place when he makes his morning rounds in the hallway. He really loves how much the students are learning so he decides to make school happen more often. He starts out with adding school on the weekends, then holidays, and then even summers. The main character Tillie speaks to Mr. Keene and brings it to his attention that some very important learning also occurs outside of school. Mr. Keene understands Tillie's viewpoint and he decides to change the school back to the regular schedule so that positive learning can be happening all around. Two themes of this book could be standing up for what is right and how learning can occur all around us. The whole school is scared to tell Mr. Keene that they do not want to go to school every day because they do not want to hurt his feelings. When Tillie realizes on all of the learning she is missing out on at home, because she is in school all of the time, she takes it upon herself to have a meeting with Mr. Keene. The way Tillie stood up for everyone in the school made an impact because she did it in a positive and non-degrading way. Mr. Keene also comes to the realization that learning can occur through teaching siblings something at home or exploring out in nature. I would recommend this book to teachers because it is a funny way to portray how great and important learning can be not only in school but also at home. This book could inspire students to open their imagination and brains even when it does not involve schoolwork. I enjoyed reading this book because I felt like it was easily relatable. In college, we do not have class every single day but we do have some sort of work to do and that does not cease on the weekends or holidays. It is also a reminder to myself that I can learn things from the world around me as well and not only information from the textbook.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

First sentence: Mr. Keene was a principal who loved his school. Every morning he strolled down the hallway and saw the children in their classes. He saw them learning shapes and colors and numbers and letters. He saw them reading and writing and drawing and painting. He saw them making dinosaurs and forts and pyramids. "Oh!" he would say. "Aren't these fine children? Aren't these fine teachers? Isn't this a fine, fine school?"

Premise/plot: What happens when Mr. Keene, the school principal, gets CARRIED away with the idea of having a fine, fine school??????? Mr. Keene is so incredibly proud of how wonderfully FINE his school is, that he always has to push, to strive to make things even better. But is there such a thing as TOO much????

My thoughts: I really LOVED this one so much. I can't believe I'm only now discovering this one. I had no idea Sharon Creech ever wrote picture books. So what led me to seek this one out? to discover it? I saw that there is a sequel coming SMART, SMART SCHOOL. The premise to that one sounds awesome. I knew I needed to go back and pick this one up.

This is a funny picture book that I'd recommend to teachers and students.

[Sandy Brehl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Long-time favorite of mine, and of the kids who share it. This sense of what makes a school a FINE school is authored by the talented award-winning Sharon Creech, and illustrated with delightful detail and humor by the unequaled talent of Harry Bliss.
The premise is that a principal longs to have his/their school be FINE, but in the process he squelches anything not related to purely academic, homework-laden, fun-killing direct instruction sessions, eliminating from both school and home life into nonstop WORK!
I love the accurate portrayal of the impact of stress and testing and demanding "proof" of highest possible academic achievement along side the sincere suffering of kids who lose their own play time and also time with siblings and pets.
I particularly admired the way student Tillie took a stand and insisted that the principal had gone overboard! A balance is restored with good-natured grace.
Watch for 2023 release of sequel/companion book, A SMART SMART SCHOOL, again featuring Principal Keane and young Tillie.

[Sydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: Fiction
Grade Level: Lower or Upper Elementary (K-3)

I think this is a cute story about a principal who is so proud of the teachers and students in his school. In fact, he loves them so much that he extends the school year to include weekends, holidays, and then the summer months. I think that if I read this to my class they would think he was crazy! I really enjoyed the illustrations in this book as well. They begin with lively children excited to learn. However, after the principal makes them come to school every single day, you can visibly see their exhaustion. In the end, a student convinces him that learning can take place out of school too. I really liked the thought of that and would enjoy reading this book to my kindergarteners next year. Overall, I would give it 4 stars.

[Roben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do you love school? Do you love it enough to go every day? Even on holidays and in the summer? That's what happens when an overly enthusiastic principal decides that his school is so great - everyone should attend all the time! The students and teachers don't know how to tell him that this is a terrible idea - until finally, one brave girl named Tillie sets him straight by informing him that if students are in school ALL the time, there are other things that they aren't learning.
This was cute and a bit silly - though of course one would have to ask - where are the parents in the story? Which is why it earns a silliness classification. Kids will enjoy it, though. And no doubt breathe a sigh of relief when Mr. Keene realizes that there can definitely be too much of a good thing.
The companion book - A Smart, Smart School - was published in June so I wanted to read this one first!

[Shaylie Dobbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book would be excellent for making a lesson plan on learning always. The girl in the book brings to Mr. Keene that students have to learn outside of school. I feel as if this book would be a good book to read and do a write up regarding what students learn outside of the classroom and what they teach others. This lesson would enhance students' writing while also having them critically think about learning processes. I love this book a lot. I love that Tillie feels comfortable enough to go talk to her principal about their school calendar. I do think it is vital in a school setting to have a good relationship with your principal. The illustrations in this book are very detail, which I love.