Rain School

<p>It is the first day of school in Chad, Africa. Children are filling the road.<br><br>&quot;Will they give us a notebook?&quot; Thomas asks.<br>&quot;Will they give us a pencil?&quot;<br>&quot;Will I learn to read?&quot;<br><br>But when he and the other children arrive at the schoolyard, they find no classroom, no desks. Just a teacher. &quot;We will build our school,&quot; she says. &quot;This is our first lesson.&quot;<br><br>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.</p>