Rain School

by James Rumford

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 vibrant ink-and-pastel 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.

Genres: Picture Books, Africa, School, Childrens, Cultural, Realistic Fiction, Chad

32 pages, Hardcover

First published October 25, 2010

About the author

I have been writing, illustrating, and designing children's books since 1996. I am on the verge of self-publishing through books that are printed on demand and via the internet. For more on my children's books, see my website: http://www.jamesrumford.com. I also have a blog about writing and illustrating children's books at http://www.calabashcat.blogspot.com. Besides commercially published books, I run a private letter press company and do limited-edition, handmade books. See more at http://www.manoapress.com. I am interested in foreign languages and in poetry. See my blog "Horace et al." at http://www.jasrumford.blogspot.com. I live in Honolulu with my wife.

Reviews

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this! I think it's pitch-perfect for the younger picture book crowd, those children who are just starting school themselves can see how children in this part of Chad (in Africa) start their school year: by building their school. The text is fairly simple yet effective (especially paired with the marvelous illustrations that really give a feel for setting and emotion) showing little boy as he and his classmates made mud bricks, mud walls and mud desks; gather grass and samplings to make the roof; and wait eagerly for lessons to begin. "Inside [the new school] it is cool. It smells of the earth. It smells of the fields ready for planting. Thomas helps bring in little wooden stools. Everyone sits down. This is the moment they have been waiting for." At the end of the school year, when the rainy season comes, the school will be washed away and next year's students will help rebuild it the following year. This is not primer about Chad; it spotlights one particular aspect of life for some children there. I think it's very effective. The author taught school in Chad and, as the bio states,"the memory of that school and the desire of Chadians to get an education no matter the obstacles gave birth to rain school." My children enjoyed the story, as well.

[Sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book to a couple of Kindergarten classes this week in leau of Tsumami by Kimiko Kajikawa. It is a simple story of a school in Chad, Africa, which must first be built by the children and their teacher before classes start. When school lets out for the summer, the heavy rains come and wash their school of mud bricks and straw away leaving them to have to rebuild again in September. I love the way the author makes it a point to tell the reader that the learning that has taken place during the school year cannot be taken away from the children for that knowledge is in their heads now.

I had the classes I read this to compare/contrast our school to the rain school. We also talked about the process of rebuilding any structure after a major destruction since many of them were very concerned when the school was washed away by the rain. Many of the students also compared the building of the rain school to the construction going on at our campus, which really surprised me.

The text is very simple, but yet very powerful. The color choices of the illustrations convey the heat of Africa and the coolness of the rain. My only wish is that the author had included some facts about rain schools for me to share with the students, but then again, looking up the facts is one of the joys of being a children's librarian.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thomas and the other children head eagerly to school in this picture-book from author/illustrator James Rumford. When they arrive they find a teacher, but no building, as the annual rainy season in their part of Chad washes away the mud schoolhouse each year. First they must help their teacher to build a new school, and then the learning can begin. Although the building will disappear with the next rainy season, the knowledge the children gain will stay with them...

Based upon Rumford's time teaching in Chad, when he was in the Peace Corps, Rain School offers an inspiring glimpse of how deeply committed some children are to getting an education in one of the poorest countries in the world. He also captures some of the difficulties they face in doing so, helping perhaps to partially explain why Chad has one of the lowest literacy rates in Africa. The artwork here is colorful and expressive, capturing the deep russet and golden hues of the area. As always, books like this help to remind us here in more affluent parts of the world how very fortunate we are, in terms of the educational resources available to us. Recommended to picture-book readers seeking stories that emphasize the importance of education, or stories set in Chad.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story takes place in Chad, and describes how a group of school children have to build their school out of mud bricks and thatch before they can begin lessons. At the end of their school year, the rainy season comes and washes their school away. Everything has to be rebuilt for the next school year. This is one place where a permanent school out of wood or corrugated metal would help. I liked the illustrations, which looked like they were pictures colored with crayons in a coloring book. For those who think that learning requires lots of gadgets and supplies, this book will show what can be done with meager supplies. I hope children who read this will appreciate how lucky they are in this country to have the nice schools that they do. Highly recommended.

[Karen Witzler]

A picture book set in Chad about a seasonal school.

[Amy Seto · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is the first day of school in Chad, Africa and Thomas is very excited. As he walks to school he asks the big brothers and sisters who lead the way many questions. Will he get a pencil? A notebook? Will he learn to read? When the children arrive at the schoolyard they find the teacher, but no schoolhouse. Their first lesson is to build the school. Thomas learns how to make walls and desks out of mud and he gathers grass and saplings to make the roof. Finally, the students sit in their very own schoolhouse and the teacher begins to teach them the letters of the alphabet. The end of the school year comes just in time; the big rains begin and soon the schoolhouse disintegrates into the landscape. But it doesn’t matter, because next year Thomas will be a big brother and he will lead the younger children to the schoolyard where they will build the schoolhouse again.

This book, named a Smithsonian Notable Children’s Book in 2010, was inspired by the rained on remains of schoolhouses that Rumford and his wife saw as Peace Corps Volunteers in Chad. The text is simple and straightforward. The story takes place over the span of a year and the passing of time is frequently noted in the text. The ink and pastel illustrations use a background of yellows, browns, and golds to convey the dry heat of the environment. Many of the illustrations are impressionistic; shapes and outlines are used to represent distant trees and threatening storm clouds. The characters that create this community are lively and caring, dressed in bright primary colors that stand out against their dark brown skin. The last page includes a map of Africa that includes the names of the countries (accurate as of the printing of this book in 2010). Chad is highlighted in red and the population and capital city of N’Djamena are included.

Full Review at Picture-Book-a-Day: http://picturebookaday.blogspot.com/2...

[CH13_Lisa Matthews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rain School is a story about children in African in a village name Chad and a little boy name Thomas and their first day of school. For many children in the United States their first day of school begins in a building inside a classroom. For the children in Chad, their first day of school begin with them and their teacher building their school with sticks, mud bricks, mud walls, mud desk, grass and saplings for the roof. School for the children in Chad last for nine month, after which the big rains begin the fall, strong winds blows and the children’s school, is no more until September and the children build their school once more.

The illustrations in this story are full of colors of Africa, bright red, yellow, green and gold on every page. The illustration look like they were color with crayons, which make the illustrations appear self drawn and colored.

This is an excellent book to teach children about the things we take for granted such as homes, electricity, telephones in the United Stated are much different in other countries. Rain school is also a great book to use to look at what learning is like in other countries and what hard work and team work can achieve.

I would recommend this book to children between the age of 3 – 8 and can be used in the classroom to discuss how children living in remote parts of the world like Chad which is one of the poorest countries in the world experience school and in spite being a poor country understand the value of education by overcoming many obstacles to become educated.

Rain School won the Booklist Editors’ Choice Book for Youth, 2010

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Children are heading back to school in Chad. Their first learning activity? To build their school. Then they learn the alphabet and other topics. Their teachers is devoted and caring and enthusiastic. What a lovely story!

[Donalyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

On the first day of school in Chad, the students must built their school building from mud and grass. After the school year ends, the rains wash away the school, but the children's learning endures.

[DD · Rating 5 out of 5]

These kids learn more than academics in Africa. They learn how to build a school!

[Emily]

1. Thomas is on his way to his first day of school in the country of Chad but when he gets there, there is no school. Along with his classmates, their first assignment is to build the school. Every day after that, Thomas learns something new from his teacher and before he knows it, school is over for the year. After this, the rains come and wash away the school but they don't mind because they have their knowledge and they will build it again next year.

2. This story is an excellent insight into the lives of children in other countries who do not have as many resources as we do in this country. It tells the story of perseverance and how important education is to these children and how much they value everything that they learn. It helps children to realize how lucky they are to have all that they have and how important education is to everyone around the world.

3. "Through my Eyes" by Ruby Bridges tells the story of an African American 6 year old girl who was chosen as one of the first students to integrate a school in New Orleans and how all of this affected her education.

"Yasmin's Hammer" by Ann Malaspina tells the story of a girl who has to work to help her family but dreams of going to school and decides to take action to help her dreams come true.

4. "Thomas arrives at the schoolyard, but there are no classrooms. There are no desks. It doesn't matter. There is a teacher. 'We will build our school,' she says. 'This is our first lesson.'"

This would be a good text to use with the social justice topic of equal schooling opportunities. It could also be used as an anchor text for the subject of the different types of schooling and opportunities around the world.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rain School is the story of a group of children from Chad going to extraordinary lengths to learn how to read and get an education. Although the children are poor and do not have much, they work together with their teacher to build a school with their own two hands, "This is the first lesson." It can also teach students the importance of working together as none of them would have had a school, if they had not all pitched in to build it. This is a great example of a book that teaches children that most things in life are earned and it will teach them to value the fact that in the United States an education is guaranteed. An education is not something to waste and it is something to take advantage of. The children overcome a lack of money and material goods to seek power in their education. This text will also expose students to another country, to another culture, and to another way of going to school using strong and empowered characters. Thus, this book is a great example of a multicultural and social justice oriented book.

This text is also a great example of realistic fiction as it allows to children to experience something they have never dealt with before and think about what they would do, think, or feel if they did not have direct access to important resources or right. Children will get an insight into what life might be like for a child living in a rural Chad and compare in to their own lives.

[Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

1) No awards currently.
2) K-2
3) It is the first day of school in a village in Chad, Central Africa, it is Thomas' first day of school in his life and he is both excited and nervous. The children arrive to the school yard, there is their teacher but, there is no school in site, "Our first assignment" the teacher says, "is to build our school". The children so much by building their school that will eventually be washed away by monsoon season but it won't matter because after 9 months in their rain school, all the knowledge will have been learned and they can build it all back up again in the spring.
4) Rain School is book that is stuffed to the brim with potential lesson plans from diversity, what makes school a school to non-materialism. The vibrant colors that fill the pages with the velvety skin tones and the Earthy environments bring this book beyond just a good lesson about education across the world but, a true work of art as a complete piece.
5)
After a read-a-loud discuss; the differences in opportunity and availability of education in Chad, what truly makes a school a place of learning and what is the true foundation of education (hint: it is not made of cement). Students can then write individually about what is the foundation that makes their school a place of learning (their peers, their teachers, etc.)

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rain School tells the story of Thomas, a young boy in Chad starting his first day of school. The story starts the way many stories about the first day of school begin -- Thomas is getting dressed in his school clothes, he asks questions about notebooks and pencils, and his older brother and sister walk him to school.

When Thomas gets to school however, there is no actual school. The teacher and the students work together to build the school, put up a roof, and make desks. And after they build the school, the teacher begins by teaching them the letter A. At the end of the school year, the children leave, filled with learning and knowledge. The summer rains destroy the school but not the learning that took place during the school year.

A wonderful and positive story about life in Africa. Young readers will connect with Thomas while contrasting his school experience with their own. I do wish that the author included an end note or suggestion about where to donate to Chadian schools. I also wish that the cover art used a different picture because the children running in the rain made me think that the story would be about something very different.

I also enjoyed the strong and vibrant artwork in this book. Recommended for elementary school libraries.

[Inhabiting Books]

A gentle story about a boy in Chad, central Africa, who is excited to go to school and finds out when he gets there that first they must re-build the school. My girls liked this look at the school experience for children in some parts of Africa and so did I.

(When I saw this book at the library, I was excited to read it because Chad was the first African country I lived in when my parents brought me there as a newborn, and we visited monthly over the next three years when we moved over the border to Cameroon. I am somewhat hesitant to say that while the annual re-building of the school was something the author may have experienced, it was not exactly consistent with my own experiences in Africa. The reality my family and I saw in central and west Africa was that the rain doesn't wash the mud brick buildings away each year, but did make it neccessary for the mud brick homes and schools to be repaired, re-mudded, and re-thatched in places every year. His version makes for a stronger, more easily explained story however, especially if one is trying to illustrate the importance of education.)

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is another book that was one of the chosen books for the Washington State Children's Choice Picture Book Award. The pictures in this book are tremendous, they look like crayon and then they were made to look wet like rain had gotten to them. The story was beautiful because it told of a life much different than ours. It talked about a school in Chad where big brothers and sisters were the ones that led them to school instead of a Bus and they had to build the entire school, step by step, page by page, before they could begin learning. It then talked about how excited the children were to get paper and pencils and tables and to learn! Then at the end of the year they are so sad to leave their friends and teachers and then the big rain comes and tears it all apart and they have to start a new school the following year. This story is so sweet because it teaches children how privileged they are and how when they complain about school other kids rejoice in their learning because they don't have the opportunities that we do. The book is simple too and it's easy for students to read and comprehend.

[AndreyT · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would like to recommend this book who is interested in Africa's education, because this book shows a lot about their school. I was assigned to read a book about Africa. My choice was this book. It's called the "Rain School" You might think this book is for small kids, but actually this book is a really meaningful book. This book's story is basically about kids in Africa. It starts with the first day of school. All kids, including new kids in 1st grade, go to school. They meet their teacher, but they don't have a building. Students make bricks to build the school, and tables to use. They don't have any special tools, so they make them with mud. The school year starts. They all get a notebook, and teacher teach them. Finally the schol year ends. All students get their vacation. As soon as teacher goes out of the school, the huge rain comes, and breaks the school. After the vacation, students come back and re build the school. I think this is the great book that shows how children in Africa live. They hardly have a school, because it breaks every year, and it's made out of mud. I was surprised how they only had a pencil and a notebook to study with.

[Kate Bretey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book to be very interesting. It is about a school children in Chad, Africa. Their first day is spent very differently than that of kids here in the US. They have to build their school before they can start to learn because after nine months of learning, the rains come and wash the school away, hence the title of the book. I think that this story could send a very strong message to kids the value of their education. I do not want to even think of the moans and groans I would hear if I told some kids they would have to build their classroom on the first day of school! For that lesson, I would use this story for fourth to sixth grade students. Another lesson that could be taught from this book is that no matter where in the world you go, there are children who want to go to school and learn just like you. It could be a social studies lesson on culture. It could be taught in varying degrees for all grades from preschool through sixth grade.

Rumford, James. Rain School. Boston: Houghton Mifflin for Children, 2010. Print

[Maria Grigoras · Rating 4 out of 5]

The picture book Rain School by James Rumford features the struggles that children in the country of Chad face. Each year, the children go to school and the big brother and sisters lead the way. They all have to build the school as their first lesson. They make their school out of mud bricks and grass. When the school is ready, the kids retain all the material from their teacher. At the end of the year, the big rains come and the school is destroyed, but the knowledge has been learned by the children.

This picture book stresses to a younger audience how not every child has the same privileges. The pictures show to kids how some people do not have the best standards of living and education. Author and illustrator James Rumford incorporates two page spreads of full bleed illustrations that depict the text well. The story itself is a circle story; the school is built each year, then destroyed, then rebuilt each year in September. Overall, the book's text and pictures collaborate nicely and portray an importance lesson to its audience.

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s the first day of school. A group of children are walking to school, excited about the start of classes. They walk and walk and finally they arrive. There are no books. There are no desks. There is no school building. The teacher is there. ‘’We will build our school,” she says. “This is the first lesson.”’

What a moment. ‘”We will build our school,” she says. “This is the first lesson.”

The children live in the African county of Chad. The children have an excitement about learning that I don’t see every day in my work in the schools in America. I feel the power of that excitement in these pages. It enables a group of children, led by a teacher, to build a place each year, from scratch, in which children can learn, knowing that, at the end of the school year, rains will come and the whole building and everything in it will be washed away by the heavy rain.

A moving story. Very powerful.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I never fail to be amazed at the lengths some individuals must go to in order to receive an education. Filled with vibrant, engaging illustrations, this picture book describes how the children in one village in Chad, just south of Libya, eagerly anticipate the first day of school. While they imagine the materials they will get to use for the very first time, once they arrive they must build the school and its desks out of grass and soil. The reason for this first-day activity is revealed at the end of the book. Once the school has been built, the children can turn to the challenging task of learning their letters and concepts so that "their minds are fat with knowledge" (unpaged). I especially loved how stalwart the children are and how excited they are to go to school as well as how supportive their teacher is. The next time one of my students seems to take for granted all the bounties of his/her education, I will share this book.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautifully written and illustrated story about children attending their first day of school in a small village in Africa. First they have to work together to build their school and then they meet to "learn". But as you discover, the learning really begins that first day as they work together to accomplish this huge goal and continues throughout the year even when the rains wash their school away. The book very simply illustrates some excellent thoughts about the value of education, what constitutes "learning" and what a blessing the educational resources we have really are compared to what most of the world must face. I am buying this book for our next "first day of school". I hope it will help my children understand the value of "school" and what happens there in a whole new light.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love picture books like this one, which introduces us to a whole new way of thinking about a seemingly ordinary activity. This is about a community in the country of Chad, where the children go to school like children all over the world. The difference is that the children's first task is to build the school. Each year, these children show up on the first day of school and help their teachers build the classroom out of mud bricks and straw thatch roofs. It's a wonderful story. I read it as part of a "Back to School" story time and my preschoolers (many of whom watch their older siblings go off to school each morning) and home-schooled kids were entranced by this idea. My goal in story time is not only to promote reading and literacy activities, but to prod the curious minds of the children and books like this help me along! Recommended!

[Kate Hastings · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grades K-5. It is the first day of school in Tchad, a country in Africa. The main character walks with older students until they find their teacher... but no school. That is their first lesson. Building the school. Once the school is built of mud and grass-- the reading, writing, geography and math classes begin.

Great discussion about how school supplies are few in some schools around the world. Students have 1 pencil and notebook to keep track of the whole year. Some kids live outside the school at night because it is too far to walk home. Classes can be multi-age and/or very large.

Geography lesson- country close to the equator has different seasons. Instead of winter, spring summer and fall-- there is rainy and dry. FABULOUS book for our global studies.

[Duke2026 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Duke
I give it four stars because it teaches you about building schools and about how you learn and when you grow up, you lead your group to the school and when you get there, you have to build the school, so this book teaches you how to be a good helper and not to deny working. You have to do it. (Noah)
I give this book four stars because it teaches you about schools and it wants you to go to school a lot and it wants you to learn about how to build schools. (Isaiah)
I give this book 5 starts because I think it teaches you about how to build schools and about how not to give up. It has a lot of details. (Julieta)
I give this book 5 stars because it's a really good book and it shows you how to build schools and it also shows you how to build friendship. (Caleb)

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book, though the story within wasn't what I was expecting to read after viewing the cover. This is a great story to share with kids in first/second-world schools, as it shows children in Africa (Chad, in this story) being excited about learning even with the hardships they have to endure. Everything was a learning experience, from the building of the school to the alphabet to geography and more. Then after the children go home for the summer, the hard summer rains destroy the school, but the learning and knowledge the children took away with them are safe inside their minds. :)

Note, though, that the cover illustration is not in the story, and there is just one two-page photo showing a rainy scene.

[Kevin Denizard · Rating 5 out of 5]

1) None
2)Pre-K - 3rd grade
3) The story takes place in the country of Chad in Africa. We follow a group of students as they way to there to school on the first day. Although, the kids don't realize that their first lesson will be to build the school itself. Come September the rain comes and the cycle starts all over again with the school needing to be rebuild again.
4) I love how this book allows the children to experience what a child in Africa has to go through to attend school. The illustration is also filled to the brim with colors and is very nice to look at.

5)The classroom can be put into groups and write about what a school needs to be successful, and a group project to build a school out of art supplies

[Jessica Blonder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rain School
By Jamie Rumford
No awards
Grades k-2
Summary The big kids lead the young ones to their first day of school in Chad. When they arrive they find that their is just a schoolyard. THe teacher shows the children how to build the schoolhouse. Once the school is finished they begin traditional learning. The school year ends once the rainy season starts. The rain washes away the schoolhouse
Review: This book is very simple in terms of writing. It can probably be read as an independent book for 1st or 2nd grade.
Activities in the classroom
Venn diagram comparing US schools to Chad schools
Writing workshop: If you could build a school, what would it be like?
Use clay and straw to build a diorama of the schoolhouse.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this to be a wonderfully simple story. The story of children building their classroom out of natural items found locally (mud, saplings, straw) before they can begin their lessons to read and write, at first came across as sad to me. By the end of the story, my heart had been uplifted. Before the students begin lessons to read and write, they first learn how to make mud/straw bricks and weave saplings into walls and ceiling frameworks and then lash long grasses together for walls and roof. Skills they can carry for their lifetime. At the end of the school year, when school lets out and the monsoon rains return the natural materials to the earth - the information has been learned and the knowledge taken away by the students. The ending was just perfect.

[Katlyn Kauffman · Rating 5 out of 5]

summary- this book is about the lifestyle that students live in Chad on an school day. When they started their first day of school they did not have a building built like we do or have the supplies that they need. They started from scratch and used things such as mud and sticks to create a school building. These children put in the extra effort to not only learn the information but also create an enviornment where they can best learn in.
evaluation- this is a great book that shows the readers the type of lifetyle these students go through just to learn information.
teaching point- this teaches the student to be apprecitative for what they have. They are able to see what other countries have and how everyone lives differently.