BEAN, Jonathan. This Is My Home, This Is My School. illus. by Jonathan Bean. 48p. Farrar. Oct. 2015. Tr $18.99. ISBN 9780374380205. LC 2014040682. PreS-Gr 1–In his second semi-autobiographical picture book, Bean introduces young audiences to one family’s homeschooling experience. The well-paced narrative draws clear connections between the details of a traditional school environment—with a teacher, a cafeteria, and classrooms—and a homeschool setting—Mom and Dad are the teachers, the kitchen becomes the lunch room, and the house, the yard, the nearby pond, and the garage are all used as classrooms. In Bean’s depiction of homeschooling, every moment of the day becomes a chance to learn, from outdoor art classes to evening star-gazing to the “homework” of helping out with farm chores. Watercolor illustrations with loosely defined borders perfectly capture the jumbled chaos of a dual-purpose household, while pen-and-ink lines and plenty of white space provide definition and space for viewers to take in the many details. In this home, towering piles of books, scattered papers, and canning jars share space with butterfly nets, chemistry beakers, and art supplies, reinforcing the family’s philosophy that every experience has educational possibilities. The simple sentence structure and vocabulary make this a great choice for emerging readers, and the strong sense of place, anchoring the school experience to a family’s beloved home while also opening it up to embrace the wider world, will resonate with young children just beginning to navigate the home/school divide. VERDICT Bean’s introduction to a free-spirited yet structured homeschool lifestyle offers a warm and accessible perspective on an increasingly common educational choice rarely seen in children’s books. A first purchase.–Chelsea Couillard-Smith, Hennepin County Library, MN This review was published in School Library Journal's August 2015 issue.