School of Names

by M.B. Goffstein

A dweller on the earth realizes the connection of all things, oceans, clouds, animals, and stars, and wishes to know their names.

16 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Marilyn Brooke Goffstein
Also published as Brooke Goffstein

American Author and Illustrator
Grew up in St Paul Minnesota
Graduated from Bennington College in Vermont in 1962
Lived in New York
Taught Children's Book Illustration at Parsons School of Design
Works in pen, watercolor and pastels

Reviews

[Joey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A love letter to our planet.

[Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was probably my favorite picture book growing up, and it would not be too much to say that it really did influence the insatiable curiosity and thirst for knowledge I developed throughout childhood. I certainly remember it fondly after recently flipping through the slight little picture book again, I feel its messages continue to hold up very well. After receiving it for my eighth birthday, I read it innumerable times, finding the idea of the “School of Names” and its celebration of the planet and the natural world to be so evocative of my love of digging in the dirt, running in the woods, and staring up into the sky. M.B. Goffstein’s writing is so simple, so precise, she expresses such deep feelings about the Earth that is yet accessible to children and adults alike.

I recall being so enthralled with the philosophy so simply and effectively shared through Goffstein’s poetry and her spare, beautiful artwork, that I actually read the book aloud to my first grade class for a presentation day. Even today, I still find the elegant combination of words and images in this short work to be extremely compelling. I am very glad I held on to my copy, as School of Names seems to have gone out of print since its publication.