Picture Book Review: Miss Edmonia’s Class of Wildfires

What I enjoy about Miss Edmonia’s Class of Wildfires is how it encourages children to see the museum experience as something they can ACTIVELY be a part of.

Miss Edmonia, a brown-skinned woman, takes her class on a field trip to an art museum and as they explore independently, their job is to think about qualities that embody their spirits as they observe the art around them. As they enter the museum, Miss Edmonia reminds them of their brilliance and encourages them to engage their senses as they roam the galleries. The story then narrows in on the experience of two brown-skinned students named Kara-Clementine and Attilo. At first they are less than thrilled and bored to be in the museum, but quickly they become inspired by what’s around them.

This picture book also highlights how art museums are not just paintings on a wall, but can also contain interactive art and light installations. The students in Miss Edmonia’s class are drawn to a dazzling starry light installation. Attilo thinks to himself “This is art, too?” as the students take time to be still and reflect on their character traits. This is an important reminder that art can encourage deep introspection.

Victoria Scott-Miller does an excellent job of creating a child-centered story that shows how adults can be effective facilitators in guiding the sensory experiences of children within museum spaces. The students not only learn more about themselves and art while in the museum, they use encouraging and supportive language to talk to each other. Scott-Miller’s story is of a nurturing classroom space not in a classroom, which showcases the power of informal learning spaces for learning (and growth).

Francisco Santoyo’s art in this picture book is very flashy and warm. He uses a dusky, hazy palette of reds, oranges, purples, and blues to portray a sense of warmth and curious energy as Miss Edmonia and her class move through the museum. He also employs an interesting technique of a neon drop shadow/aura around the human figures, which makes them almost pop off the page in a 3-D way. It’s very unique and effective at drawing the eye to the page.

One critique of this picture book is that Miss Edmonia speaks in awkward rhyme yet her students do not. I understand the desire to craft a teacher-character who is whimsical, but unfortunately the rhyme takes the reader out of the scene and is sometimes confusing. All this being said, I highly recommend this book as an example of the potential of the museum to be a nurturing and inspiring space, and a place where everyone should feel welcome and see themselves represented.

Check it out!

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