As she enters her final year of teaching, [the author] tells in this book a story of her own farewell, as well as a story of the self-discovery of Reeny, a little girl with a fondness for the color brown. Led by Reeny, [she] and the children develop a passion for the books of Italian author Leo Lionni, and reinvent their classroom around discussions of these stories. Through Frederick the mouse and Lionni's other characters they explore themes of race, identity, gender, and the essential human needs to create and to belong. [She also] discovers how the unexplored territory unfolding before her and Reeny marks the very essence of school. -Back cover.