Lent Read #22: RAIN SCHOOL by James Rumford

What if you had to build your school with your own hands before starting the school year? You might treat it with more respect, and eagerly receive your lessons, like the children in RAIN SCHOOL by James Rumford, published by Houghton Mifflin.

In this vibrant, cheerful picture book set in Chad, we meet a smiling, beautiful teacher and a group of eager, hard-working students. My favorite line? "The students' minds are fat with knowledge. Their notebooks are rumpled from learning." Even when the rains wash away the building, it can't take away what's been learned. That stays forever, whether it's here or in Chad.