What do you think?
Rate this book
If I Built ...
If I Built a School
In this exuberant companion to If I Built a Car, a boy fantasizes about his dream school--from classroom to cafeteria to library to playground.My school will amaze you. My school will astound.By far the most fabulous school to be found!Perfectly planned and impeccably clean.On a scale, 1 to 10, it's more like 15!And learning is fun in a place that's fun, too.If Jack built a school, there would be hover desks and pop-up textbooks, skydiving wind tunnels and a trampoline basketball court in the gym, a robo-chef to serve lunch in the cafeteria, field trips to Mars, and a whole lot more. The inventive boy who described his ideal car and house in previous books is dreaming even bigger this time.
32 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 13, 2019
40 people are currently reading
588 people want to read
About the author
Chris Van Dusen
52 books318 followersChris Van Dusen writes: “I was born in Portland, Maine, on St. Patrick’s Day, 1960. As a child, my brothers and I would spend hours drawing pictures. We didn’t have video games or computers to entertain us, so we drew instead. One of my brothers would sketch intricate war scenes. Another would draw animals so realistic you’d swear they were breathing. My specialty was aliens, robots, and monsters.
“Dr. Seuss and Robert McCloskey were my heroes. I loved the rhythm of Dr. Seuss’ words and I was fascinated by the meticulous detail of Robert McCloskey’s illustrations. I had no idea back then that I’d end up writing and illustrating children’s books when I grew up.
“After high school, I studied fine art at The University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth and graduated with a BFA in 1982. It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to do. First I was a waiter, and then I was offered a part-time job at a magazine for teenagers. Eventually I started drawing cartoons and illustrations for the magazine and my career as an illustrator was born.
“For more than ten years I worked as a freelance illustrator specializing in art for kids. I was doing mostly editorial work and my illustrations appeared in magazines like Nickelodeon, Family Fun, and Disney Adventures. One day I started thinking about drawing a picture of a boat stuck high up in a tree. I thought that would be a really funny and intriguing illustration. At the same time, a refrain kept running through my head—“Mr. Magee and his little dog, Dee / Hopped in the car and drove down to the sea.” The combination of these two things eventually became my first book, Down to the Sea with Mr. Magee (Chronicle), which was published in 2000. Since then I’ve written and illustrated A Camping Spree with Mr. Magee (Chronicle) (2003), If I Built a Car (Puffin) (2005) and I’ve had a ball illustrating Kate DiCamillo’s Mercy Watson series (Candlewick).
“Dr. Seuss and Robert McCloskey were my heroes. I loved the rhythm of Dr. Seuss’ words and I was fascinated by the meticulous detail of Robert McCloskey’s illustrations. I had no idea back then that I’d end up writing and illustrating children’s books when I grew up.
“After high school, I studied fine art at The University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth and graduated with a BFA in 1982. It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to do. First I was a waiter, and then I was offered a part-time job at a magazine for teenagers. Eventually I started drawing cartoons and illustrations for the magazine and my career as an illustrator was born.
“For more than ten years I worked as a freelance illustrator specializing in art for kids. I was doing mostly editorial work and my illustrations appeared in magazines like Nickelodeon, Family Fun, and Disney Adventures. One day I started thinking about drawing a picture of a boat stuck high up in a tree. I thought that would be a really funny and intriguing illustration. At the same time, a refrain kept running through my head—“Mr. Magee and his little dog, Dee / Hopped in the car and drove down to the sea.” The combination of these two things eventually became my first book, Down to the Sea with Mr. Magee (Chronicle), which was published in 2000. Since then I’ve written and illustrated A Camping Spree with Mr. Magee (Chronicle) (2003), If I Built a Car (Puffin) (2005) and I’ve had a ball illustrating Kate DiCamillo’s Mercy Watson series (Candlewick).
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 235 reviews
August 25, 2021
Enjoyed the online reading by N.A.S.A. astronaut Megan McArthur onboard the International Space Station.
August 1, 2019
I imagine there would be 100% attendance at a school like this.
August 21, 2019
I discovered the series this book is a part of this summer and I fell in love with it. Not only do I adore Van Dusen's bright, entertaining illustrations, but his rhyming is first rate. In this book, Jack tells his teacher all about the school he would build if he was in charge. He demonstrates a first rate imagination as he details the zoo, glass tubes and pods for transportation, classroom towers, and stylus's that write in the air. He can't explain how everything works but he with the faith of a child he's positive his school would be great. The rhyming makes for a great read aloud and the bright illustrations and clever ideas make this a delightful book to share. The book could even be used to encourage students to design their own schools.
November 4, 2019
Imagination abounds in this book about Jack building the school of his dreams. It’s actually pretty awesome.
June 7, 2019
If I Built A School is Chris Van Dusen’s third If I Built... picture book. Brilliantly coloured spreads full of wonderful imaginings provide the perfect leaping off point to spark children’s own creativity. If I Built A School is more like If I Built a fun park. From glass tube travel ports and spaceships to holograms and water slides, Jack’s school design is wild and heaps of fun.
While the inclusions in Jack’s school are perhaps not exactly surprising, it is the leap of creativity and the passing of design over to the child that I really like. As Jack tours his teacher around the school, introducing her to his plans and reasoning behind them, even sometimes admitting that he doesn’t yet have all the details on how something might actually work, it is the creativity that is passed into his hands and his teacher’s looks of wonder that I most appreciate (especially her considered look at the existing brick school box at the close of the book). There is so much that one could do with children after reading this book. Having children design their own school is just one simple activity. Working with DIY holograms is an easy tech-related activity, while in-depth discussion, for example, about Jack’s decision to have animals sequestered into small enclosures just inside the entrance of his school could spark much-needed conversation about the relationship between animals and humans.
The book rhymes gloriously. It’s a lot of fun to read aloud. Every two lines rhyme and they are grouped into four or six lines per page.
If I Built A School will be a fun addition to any school library or child’s personal bookshelf - perfect for sparking conversations about design and for igniting young readers’ creativity.
The publishers provided an advanced readers copy of this book for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.
Find more reviews, reading age guides, content advisory, and recommendations on my blog Madison's Library
While the inclusions in Jack’s school are perhaps not exactly surprising, it is the leap of creativity and the passing of design over to the child that I really like. As Jack tours his teacher around the school, introducing her to his plans and reasoning behind them, even sometimes admitting that he doesn’t yet have all the details on how something might actually work, it is the creativity that is passed into his hands and his teacher’s looks of wonder that I most appreciate (especially her considered look at the existing brick school box at the close of the book). There is so much that one could do with children after reading this book. Having children design their own school is just one simple activity. Working with DIY holograms is an easy tech-related activity, while in-depth discussion, for example, about Jack’s decision to have animals sequestered into small enclosures just inside the entrance of his school could spark much-needed conversation about the relationship between animals and humans.
The book rhymes gloriously. It’s a lot of fun to read aloud. Every two lines rhyme and they are grouped into four or six lines per page.
If I Built A School will be a fun addition to any school library or child’s personal bookshelf - perfect for sparking conversations about design and for igniting young readers’ creativity.
The publishers provided an advanced readers copy of this book for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.
Find more reviews, reading age guides, content advisory, and recommendations on my blog Madison's Library
January 16, 2022
This book is a truly fun read. It really captures a child’s imagination. The story rhymes which makes the flow of the book to be fun as well. We will re-read continuously.
March 5, 2025
Fun and entertaining. Great illustration and full of life
Read
October 15, 2019In If I built a school, Jack takes his teacher on an imaginary tour of his dream school. This school is filled with his wildest dreams and fantasies including puppies that greet you, skydiving in the gym, and three story tall slides to get you to and from classes. I recommend this book to all ages because you are never too young or too old to access your imagination. A very fun and entertaining read!
October 16, 2019
This was so fun and my son was mesmerized!
September 14, 2019
If I Built a School is the third book in the children's picture book series If I Built..., written and illustrated by Chris Van Dusen, which follows an imaginative boy named Jack who wants to design his ideal school.
The text is rather simplistic, straightforward, and lyrical. Written in rhyming couplets, the narrative tells the school that a little would like to create. The illustrations are colorful, sleek, and shiny, reinforcing the 1950s suburbia ambiance and the narrative.
The premise of the book is rather straightforward. Jack returns once more and outlines his perfect school with a shiny, bright, futuristic facility in which students are swept to open-roofed classes in clear tubes, there are no tests but lots of field trips, and art, music, and science are afterthoughts next to the huge and awesome gym, playground, and lunchroom. A robot and lots of cute puppies greet students at the door, robotically made-to-order lunches and the library's books are all animated popups rather than the everyday regular sorts.
All in all, If I Built a School is a wonderful book about a little boy and his boundless imagination in creating the perfect school.
The text is rather simplistic, straightforward, and lyrical. Written in rhyming couplets, the narrative tells the school that a little would like to create. The illustrations are colorful, sleek, and shiny, reinforcing the 1950s suburbia ambiance and the narrative.
The premise of the book is rather straightforward. Jack returns once more and outlines his perfect school with a shiny, bright, futuristic facility in which students are swept to open-roofed classes in clear tubes, there are no tests but lots of field trips, and art, music, and science are afterthoughts next to the huge and awesome gym, playground, and lunchroom. A robot and lots of cute puppies greet students at the door, robotically made-to-order lunches and the library's books are all animated popups rather than the everyday regular sorts.
All in all, If I Built a School is a wonderful book about a little boy and his boundless imagination in creating the perfect school.
August 27, 2019
Van Dusen's predictable rhyming style and recognizable illustrations are back again in this back-to-school tome. Young Jack is swinging on the swings when he tells Ms. Jane (the teacher) that the school lacks pizazz and proceeds to explain the school he would design. Jack's school would include everything from a zoo to hologram history classes. Jack definitely knows how to design schools!
A cute rhyming story suggested for lap reading or group. I personally find this kind of rhythmic rhyming text to be difficult to read in storytime.
A cute rhyming story suggested for lap reading or group. I personally find this kind of rhythmic rhyming text to be difficult to read in storytime.
Read
September 30, 2019This book is about a young boy who decides that he wants to redesign his school and make it more fun and interesting. The author, Chris Van Dusen, has won awards for some of his other books, including one similar to this one - If I Built a Car. This book won the E.B. White Read Aloud Award, and I feel that If I Built a School would be an amazing book for a read aloud because it rhymes, and would give the students new ideas that are super creative, and then you could have them go come up with their own ideas for if they were to build a school.
September 15, 2019
Oh my this book is full of imagination . The premise is if a child built a school there would be fun and innovative ways of learning. An enjoyable story to share with the children in your life.
September 12, 2020
Star rating: 5
Copyright date: 2012
Theme: Imagination, schools, art, fun
I loved this book! I think it speaks to all children's imaginations. The illustrations in the book are amazing and engaging. My favorite part of the book was the playground page. I would read this book to my class to show all of the imaginative things you can think of. This book shows so much creativity that would be fun and exciting for students to read.
Copyright date: 2012
Theme: Imagination, schools, art, fun
I loved this book! I think it speaks to all children's imaginations. The illustrations in the book are amazing and engaging. My favorite part of the book was the playground page. I would read this book to my class to show all of the imaginative things you can think of. This book shows so much creativity that would be fun and exciting for students to read.
July 23, 2022
A boy tells his teacher about what he would do if he were the architect of a school, with ideas like waterslides and a zoo and a lot of science-fictional elements. Told in rhyme. The art is excellent. There's no story, just a more and more elaborate list of stuff. My kids liked a lot of the ideas.
April 25, 2020
This was SO amazing. What a creative and imaginative book with details about a school dreamed by the main character. The illustrations were amazing.
February 9, 2021
Tag this one for the dreamers. Similar to the other wildly popular If I built books by Mr. Van Dusen, I am sure this will leave the shelves regularly.
February 14, 2023
Wow, if only. I particularly liked the line “learning is fun in a place that’s fun too.”
August 15, 2023
One of those rhyming books where sometimes the rhyme just doesn't flow.
December 10, 2023
A fun book. The rhymes and whimsy are reminiscent of Dr. Sues. The technology and architecture also reminds me of Meet of Robinsons.
February 13, 2025
Maybe if education and educators received the funds that are supposed to funnel down to the classroom, our schools would be like Jack’s school!
February 24, 2020
Chris Van Dusen is the illustrator for the Mercy Watson series (a longtime favorite in our family). In the style of "If I Built a Car," this book is a child imagining the perfect school. The illustrations and ideas are quite fun.
Preschoolers' reviews:
"I loved all of it. I liked the robo chef. I liked the animals. I liked the illustrations and I tried to draw like them."
"I think it is funny."
Preschoolers' reviews:
"I loved all of it. I liked the robo chef. I liked the animals. I liked the illustrations and I tried to draw like them."
"I think it is funny."
November 15, 2019
Love the retrofuture-style artwork. The rhyming is punchy (reminiscent of Dr. Seuss in the best possible way) and the book is so creative and fun.
November 13, 2019
If Jack were to build a school it would be a cross between a theme park and the futuristic world of the Jetsons - a fun place to hang out but I'm not sure how much learning would take place. Bright colors and rhyming text, but it starts to feel repetitive towards the end. It didn't do much for me.
October 29, 2019
Jack uses his imagination to create the perfect school in If I Built a School by Chris Van Dusen. Written in rhyme, the first verses immediately bring Dr. Seuss to mind:
Jack, on the playground, said to Miss Jane,
This school is OK, but it’s pitifully plain.
The builder who built this I think should be banned.
It’s nothing at all like the school I have planned.
Unlike Dr. Suess, Van Dusen sticks to real words and the book is ripe with opportunities for vocabulary study—after a long period of enjoying the story and illustrations.
As Jack takes his teacher on a tour, we see his ideas play out in colorful and fun illustrations. His concept includes puppies and a zoo in the lobby, hover desks, and hologram guests. This is such a fun book; I think it would be a particularly good read in the classroom lending itself to much discussion and creative followup as children illustrate and write about their own notions for a perfect school.
Warning to school administrators: there is no mention of testing in this book because as Jack concludes:
On a scale, 1 to 10, it’s more like 15!
And learning is fun in a place that’s fun too.
I would like to extend my thanks to Edelweiss and to Dial Press (Penguin) for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Jack, on the playground, said to Miss Jane,
This school is OK, but it’s pitifully plain.
The builder who built this I think should be banned.
It’s nothing at all like the school I have planned.
Unlike Dr. Suess, Van Dusen sticks to real words and the book is ripe with opportunities for vocabulary study—after a long period of enjoying the story and illustrations.
As Jack takes his teacher on a tour, we see his ideas play out in colorful and fun illustrations. His concept includes puppies and a zoo in the lobby, hover desks, and hologram guests. This is such a fun book; I think it would be a particularly good read in the classroom lending itself to much discussion and creative followup as children illustrate and write about their own notions for a perfect school.
Warning to school administrators: there is no mention of testing in this book because as Jack concludes:
On a scale, 1 to 10, it’s more like 15!
And learning is fun in a place that’s fun too.
I would like to extend my thanks to Edelweiss and to Dial Press (Penguin) for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
November 2, 2019
pretty entertaining
October 24, 2019
I love, love, love Chris Van Dusen, and this series is just wonderful. I love all the maker space related activities you could use this one for. Even if all you do is share it with a young child, it is sure to be a hit!
October 24, 2019
I'm sure every reader my age could only think of the jetsons as they read it, I'm 70. Think kids will have fun drawing and designiing their own school. Nice to have this third one in the series.
September 13, 2020
I love this book and so do my students. This series really ignites children's imagination.
October 16, 2019
We love Chris Van Dusen! This is the third book in his, “If I Built A...” series and it doesn’t disappoint. Bright colorful illustrations with 1950’s space age style give it a fun creative feel. The rhyming verses are a blast to read and add a sense of humor. The books can help open up some fun discussion about what you think would make the perfect school or house or car. Highly recommend!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 235 reviews