Sideways Stories from Wayside School (Wayside School Series - Book 1) - Review

 

 

This is a children's book. I think the category would be "juvenile", not quite Young Adult (YA), though Goodreads does tag it as YA. I personally would suggest grades 3 - 4. (Indigo's website suggests ages 9 to 12.)

Trigger Warning: 

This book deals with some weirdness. Please read the book yourself first to decide if your child is ready for some of the stories inside. 

"You need a reason to be sad. You don't need a reason to be happy."

A strange school built thirty stories high (instead of one story with thirty classrooms) is home to Wayside School. Though the builder said he was very, very sorry for the mistake, the strange school is now home to some wacky classes - especially on the thirtieth floor. 

The stories of Wayside School follow the children of the thirtieth floor - Mrs Gorf's class (later Mrs. Jewls class). They are strange and silly tales told by a special yard teacher. 

There is John, who can only read upside down, and Myron, the best class president and Bebe, the fastest drawer in art class and of course, Sammy, the new kid. Thirty stories, thirty children, all from the thirtieth floor. 

The Review

I read this book in school. And I re-read it this year specifically for this post. I enjoyed it as a kid; I remember being excited when we were told we would be reading the sequel also. The chapters are very short, and they are individual stories, so it is a nice way to be introduced to a chapter book. I think most kids would enjoy this book. The stories are funny and wacky and just fun for kids. 

The book series was so popular that they created a cartoon based on it (a slightly updated version). This may or may not make the books more popular with children. 

SPOILER ALERT

The first chapter is about Mrs Gorf, a terribly vile teacher who turns her students into apples. Eventually, she is turned into an apple and eaten by one of her students! This story stands out the most to me. This one may be a little scary to a young kid. But it's all in a funny way. So if your child is sensitive, skipping this story may be best. 

The next chapter is about Mrs Jewls, a much nicer teacher who takes over when Mrs Gorf can no longer be the teacher. And then the next twenty-seven chapters are about the students. 

The final chapter is written by "Louis" (conveniently the name of the author), the yard teacher. He suggests that he read the stories of the children to regular children from a regular school (the reader), and they thought they were strange and silly. It recaps the stories and is a cute way to end the book. 

I originally read this book in school. I re-read this book through my local library (on the Libby App). 

Rating and Recommendation

I gave this book four stars because, as I read it again as an adult, I realised that some of the themes may be a little outdated. I did read this in school when I was a kid (over twenty years ago). But I still think it should be considered a classic for children. It's a good book, and I am of the opinion that if it gets children to read, that's all that matters. I do think there are more "wacky" books out there now - like Captain Underpants, for example and kids just LOVE those books. So I think this is a great "gateway book" for a child to see that reading doesn't have to be a chore. It can be funny, quirky, and a game. It doesn't have to be sitting at your desk, back straight, reading. It can be about a boy with green hair or a girl who draws a million miles a minute.  

I do not own this book. I am a little old to be buying this book now. (I have a huge list of books that I already want to buy without adding some childhood books I don't own yet.) But if I saw the series (a box set) on sale, I would jump on it. That being said, I think it is a great investment if you have children. 

Conclusion

This may not be a part of the school curriculum anymore, but I think it is still a great book for kids. It's quirky and fun, and I think most kids would laugh and enjoy it. If you want to make sure your kids would like the book, you can always check out the TV series they made (I'll link a YouTube video below), or read the book yourself. It does have 30 chapters, but each is between 5 and 7 pages long, so it shouldn't take long to read yourself or just choose a few chapters (they don't really follow), and you can get a sense of the book. 

You can find Sideway Stories from Wayside School in its respective mediums below: 

 

* Book cover image retrieved from GoodReads. All rights belong to the author and/or publisher. 
* All the "stickers" in this blog were provided by Bookish (presented by NetGalley).
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