Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Sideways Stories from Wayside School (Wayside School)

by Louis Sachar, Adam McCauley (Illustrator)

4.11 of 5 stars 4.11 · rating details · 39,192 ratings · 1,172 reviews

The Wayside School was supposed to be one story high, with 30 classrooms side by side; instead, it was built sideways, with 30 one-classroom stories. As befits such a strange school, these tales are a bit strange too. In one, Jason is stuck to his seat by a large wad of chewing gum. His teacher tries throwing ice water on him (to chill the gum to brittleness) and turning h...more

Paperback, 148 pages

Published 2003 by Harper Trophy (first published January 1st 1978)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

Best Books for Reluctant Readers

337th out of 484 books — 821 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Jan 06, 2008 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: the young at heart

If you want to see exactly what rests at the center of someone’s soul, don’t bother reading a 200-page biography on them; ask them what was the first book ever to make an impression on them that lasted into their adulthood. For some it might be some garbage about a brat named Ramona and her ginger-kid friends, and these people embrace a passion for whimsy and camaraderie. Others have a deep-rooted sense of ‘self’ from cherishing the trails and tribulations of some chick named Margaret menstruati...more If you want to see exactly what rests at the center of someone’s soul, don’t bother reading a 200-page biography on them; ask them what was the first book ever to make an impression on them that lasted into their adulthood. For some it might be some garbage about a brat named Ramona and her ginger-kid friends, and these people embrace a passion for whimsy and camaraderie. Others have a deep-rooted sense of ‘self’ from cherishing the trails and tribulations of some chick named Margaret menstruating and masturbating. Those who would grow up to be truly unexceptional enjoyed those 10-page “Mr. Man” books (mr happy, mr bump, mr greedy) which always delivered some pointless life lesson about sharing, caring, or other similar nonsense. And then there are those who were destined to be influenced by the outrageous, ridiculous, and sublime, and their rallying point is the fantastic cast of Wayside School.

I’m sure each character has their own loyal following of obedient acolytes who have championed their cause and tried emulating their idol throughout their life; most would probably be fond of Todd, the luckless but genuinely lovable rapscallion who is dismissed from class for his antics every day, the art-f@g crowd related to Bebe Gunn, the dreamers prefer Sharie , the ambitious geeks decry the greatness of Myron, the optimists swear DJ had the right attitude while the misanthropes defer to Kathy’s wisdom, and the goofballs and flucktards of the world were torn between Stephen and Jenny. The people supporting anyone else are usually living in their parents’ basement currently and getting geeked on paint thinner or spending their time volunteering for charitable causes or running for public office. But there is the unsung hero that none can forget, easily the linchpin of the story and the single most inspiring, enigmatic, and culturally relevant character ever introduced in ANY book; Sammy. That’s right, Sammy; the grimy, filthy, stinking, and baffling dead rat that tries infiltrating Mrs. Jewls class while posing as a student and wearing multiple raincoats that reek of decay and alley-trash. He trash talks the entire class, he befouls their atmosphere with his pungent stench, and threatens to bite the teachers head off for discarding his ‘good clothes’ as she throws raincoat after raincoat out the window. Sammy stands proud in the midst of his admonishment, laughing at those who think he might actually give a damn about their concerns or opinions, and is ultimately banished to the basement to live with the other dead rats; presumably where they hatch their nefarious plans to somehow attend class. Are they doing it just to cause a commotion? Are the legitimately interested in garnering some education? Could this be their own rite of passage in their social circles? Sammy’s puzzling nature keeps us guessing, pondering these questions without conclusion.

Compared to the iconic students attending Wayside, the kids at Hogwarts don’t compare, Ramona and her ilk look flimsy and pathetic, and the Choose Your Own Adventure books seem predictable and without shock compared to the zany irreverence displayed in these Sideways Stories.(less)

51 likes · like · see review

Mar 04, 2012 Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: youngfolk

This is the only chapter book I've read to my class this year that has caused them to demand more chapters, beg for a quick chapter here and there throughout the day and I've even had to re-read several chapters to them. There is just something about absurdity mixed with keen observations of school days reality that gets kids every time.

Sarah Montambo Powell

13 likes · like · see review

Oct 26, 2012 Prashant rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: waiting-in-my-shelf, major-disappointment, children

This was my reaction when I realized that I have not forgotten to pack this book for my Mumbai trip.

And this was my expression throughout the period when I was reading the book.

description

I had so many expectations from it and maybe that led to the epic fall. I so wanted to like it. I wanted another Wimpy Kid in my kitty on which I can fall back on whenever I need.

But this is no Wimpy Kid, oh hell, it sucks as intensely as the Fudge kid in Fudge-a-mania.

Here are some drudgery tales served on a please-lik...more

6 likes · like · see review

Sep 05, 2011 Jenny rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: character, language

Oh Louis Sachar you are such a gifted children’s writer. I’ve loved all of your books (from the social injustice of Holes to the touching There’s a Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom). But the Wayside School books will always have a special place in my heart as the funniest and goofiest. Sachar uses a lot of puns, wordplay, and zany situations and that’s probably why as an adult my most favorite type of humor is irony with a little bit of absurdity. Here is a taste:

“Dana had four beautiful eyes. She wor...more

4 likes · like · see review

Feb 26, 2010 Joel rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: personal-collection, grade-school-books, ya

There is no 19th story.

5 likes · like · see review

Apr 21, 2013 Pink rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

January 20, Chapter 1

I think Mrs.Gorf is a really mean teacher, because she turned her students into an apple, when they did nothing wrong.

January 27 , Chapter 2

Mrs. Jewls is a kind teacher, she thinks that her students are terribly cute. And she plans to give them a banana, because she thought that they look like a monkey.

February 3, Chapter 3

Joe is a boy who can't count properly.I think it's funny when he can only count backwards, but will still get the correct answer when Mr's Jewls ask him q...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jun 10, 2007 Blanca rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: childrens, classics

Louis Sachar was unwittingly my primer for my love of absurdist and magical realism literature. In my 5th grade English class, we read this book and I remember there was nothing we were more collectively excited about except maybe that mock presidential campaign where Michael Dukakis won by a landslide in the halls of George Washington Carver- Anson Jones Elementary, if nowhere else in the country. Our enthusiasm for the wacky capers of the students and the yard teacher inspired a class project...more

5 likes · like · see review

Jul 11, 2011 Emily rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-aloud-to-t-and-j-too-sort-of, second-childhood

I was only half-way interested in reading this book out loud to my son, who received it as an end of year gift from his second grade teacher. I expected it to be kind of dumb because I knew it was meant to be "funny", and my idea of funny doesn't always overlap with a seven-year-old's. But we tried it for lack of other reading material at hand, and it turned out I was captivated by the oddness of it. The stories, 30 of them, to match the 30 stories of Wayside School (which was accidentally built...more

3 likes · like · see review

Jun 02, 2007 aisha rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

HOLY CRAP THIS BOOK IS SO GREAT.

unbelievably great. it cracks me up regulary ("take a train, peanut brain!" being one of my favorite lines). children's books are fantastic bedtime readings - they are usually short, relatively simple, and - in the case of the whole wayside collection - ridiculously entertaining and clever. i fear the day this becomes a film (unless my college roommate writes and directs it) because all of the kids are such unique and well developed characters, it has to be incred...more

3 likes · like · see review

Apr 01, 2008 Colleen Venable rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2007-read, mid-grade-fiction, re-read, park-slope-bookclub

This is absolutely the most perfect book I have ever read for this age group. Brilliant, hysterical, and seemingly simplistic, the book is anything but. I was shocked re-reading it as an adult how stunningly original all the small stories that make up this book are. If you haven't read it since you were young, I INSIST you pick it up again. The best in the bunch: icecream flavored like kids and the invisible note for the invisible teacher on the invisible floor.

2 likes · like · see review

Mar 23, 2009 Elizabeth rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: childrens-chapter

I remember loving this book at some point during my childhood. Re-reading it as an adult confirms that I was a very strange child. What an awesomely weird book! Teachers turning into apples and being eaten by recess monitors! Dead rats in raincoats passing as ornery new students!

One particularly bizarre, hilarious passage:

"In Mrs. Jewls' class there were three children named Eric: Eric Fry, Eric Bacon, and Eric Ovens. They were known throughout the school for being fat. Eric Fry sat at this end...more

4 likes · like · see review

Nov 08, 2008 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: i-own

My kids and I just finished reading this book aloud one story a night. The humorous stories and ridiculous situations entertained all three kids (aged 4 through 8) and I found myself laughing aloud with them ad the adventures of the kids on the 30th story.

Characters
Each story focuses primarily on a different character so trying to lump all of the characters together into a single review category is difficult. The two character persistent throughout the book, Mrs. Jewls and Louis, are interestin...more

1 like · like · see review

Apr 16, 2009 Destinee Sutton rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: funny, middle-grade, school

I'm rereading this for the first time since elementary school, and I gotta say, I'm really blown away by the sheer absurdity of it. It reminds me of James Marshall's George and Martha stories: absurd, but lovely in that they never apologize for being absurd or wink at you from beneath the absurdity. It's just absurd all the way down, sincerely and deeply absurd. I imagine after you graduate from George and Martha, you move on to Wayside, and from there you're ready for Beckett and Camus.

2 likes · like · see review

May 04, 2013 Patti rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Upon the recommendation of an enthusiastic 3rd grader in my grandson’s class, I checked out his most favorite book from this year – “Sideways Stories From Wayside School”. Two other kids concurred so that was enough for me to finally read what was also a favorite of several students I had as an elementary librarian. So away I went with a copy from their library.

Surprisingly, I have mixed feelings for this book that the kids find so hilarious. It’s a different kind of humor that is just wacky, ir...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 21, 2013 Maeve Harrison rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book is very strange and humorous with stories that don't really make any sense. It tell the tales of wayside school and the children who go there. The school is a strange building thirty stories high with each classroom on top of the other, the children who go there are rather strange and the teacher are even more strange. The stories are very bizzare from dead rats dressed up in layers of coats and going to school, to children coming to school on a Saturday, to teachers not liking anyone,...more

1 like · like · see review

Nov 13, 2012 Montserrat rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: childrens

From the author of Holes, this is another book in the popular Wayside School series for children. At Wayside School, nothing is quite right - the 30 rooms are built on top of each other, the teachers are strange and the students are even stranger. A brilliant exercise in absurdist literature, the book is filled with many wacky and wonderful goings-on among Beebee Gunn, DeeDee, Rondi and others. The long-suffering teacher Mrs Jewls tries and fails to keep order amongst the chaos.

Sachar's gift for...more

1 like · like · see review

Aug 06, 2012 Fatou.diop rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

1) I like this book because the characters in the book are silly. For example on page 19-24 there's a boy named Joe who doesn't know how to count or do anything.I think this is silly because everyone should know how to count. When I learned that Joe couldn't count, I was shocked. This is silly. Another example is on page 24 about this girl in the same class as Joe. Her name is Sharie. Sharie sleeps during class and the teacher Mrs. Jewls find that good. She says when Sharie sleeps, she's learnin...more 1) I like this book because the characters in the book are silly. For example on page 19-24 there's a boy named Joe who doesn't know how to count or do anything.I think this is silly because everyone should know how to count. When I learned that Joe couldn't count, I was shocked. This is silly. Another example is on page 24 about this girl in the same class as Joe. Her name is Sharie. Sharie sleeps during class and the teacher Mrs. Jewls find that good. She says when Sharie sleeps, she's learning something new. This is way too silly. How can you learn wile u sleeping?This book is way too silly.

2)You would like this book if you like to be silly and like to listen to silly things. you would like this book if you like to be silly and like to listen to silly things because this book is full of people being silly. This book is full of the students acting up and being mean to each other. This book is really funny and is silly. You would also like this book if you like reading about kids do their work. You would like this book if you like to read about kids doing their work because in this book, the students are doing their work it's just that their personality is silly.

3) On challenge of this book was understanding the characters in the story because this book has a lot of characters and it's very confusing if you don't pay attention. This was a challenge because there are lots of characters and this book is weird so if you want to understand you need to pay attention and remember everything. This is funny because some of the things that you need to remember are so silly you forget. Some of the things hat you need to remember is if you are late, you get turned into an apple because the teacher loves apples.

4) I would describe Mrs.Gorf as harsh. I would describe her as harsh because she turns students into apples for being late. Sometimes the weather causes people to be late and you can't control that. She will also turn you to an apple if you sneeze or say"God Bless You."This shows that she is harsh because you can not control a sneeze,if you have to sneeze you have to sneeze. You can't control other students bodies. (less)

like · see review

Feb 18, 2012 Alana rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Sideways Stories From Wayside School by Louis Sachar is unbelievably funny! This book is filled with wacky characters, alongside unusual and ridiculous situations. Dead rats walk into the classroom in raincoats, a boy reads upside-down, a girl turns her mosquito bites into numbers, the children trade names, just to name a few situations. The reader knows that this book is going to be unusual right from the beginning. Wayside School was built sideways, where it is thirty stories high with one cla...more

like · see review

Nov 15, 2011 Bluerose's Heart rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, young-reader-8-12

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Sideways Stories from Wayside School has to be the biggest bunch of nonsense I think I've ever read! I really liked this series as a child. As an adult, I just can't figure out what I ever saw in it. I was so shocked at its stupidity, I actually wanted to stop reading it. Since it is pretty short, though, I finished it.

Wayside School is a school that was mistakenly built UP 30 floors, instead of being built sideways. The 19th floor was mistakenly forgotten, too! So that there's a story for each...more Sideways Stories from Wayside School has to be the biggest bunch of nonsense I think I've ever read! I really liked this series as a child. As an adult, I just can't figure out what I ever saw in it. I was so shocked at its stupidity, I actually wanted to stop reading it. Since it is pretty short, though, I finished it.

Wayside School is a school that was mistakenly built UP 30 floors, instead of being built sideways. The 19th floor was mistakenly forgotten, too! So that there's a story for each floor, you get 30 different stories that for the most part stand independent from one another. (The 19th chapter simply tells you you're not getting a story since the 19th floor doesn't exist).

Just to give you a taste of what is in the pages of Sideways Stories from Wayside School, I'm going to share part of Chapter 14.

"When Sammy first came into the room, he was four feet tall. But after Mrs. Jewls removed six of his raincoats, he was only three feet tall. And there were still more raincoats to go.
Mrs. Jewls circled his name and removed another coat. She threw it out the window. Then she put a triangle around the circle and threw another one of his coats outside. She kept doing this until Sammy was only one-and-a-half feet high. With every caot she took off, Sammy's laugh got louder and louder and the smell got worse.
Some of the children held their ears. Others could hold only one ear because they were holding their nose with the other hand. It was hard to say which was worse, the laugh or the smell.
Sammy stopped laughing and said, "Hey, old windbag, if you take off one more of my coats and throw it out the window, I'll bite your head off."
"They smell too bad for me to allow them in my classroom," said Mrs. Jewls. "You can pick them up when you leave."
"They smell better than you do, Pighead!" Sammy shouted.
Mrs. Jewls didn't stop. She took off another one of his coats, then another, and another. Sammy was only four inches tall, three inches tall, two inches tall. At last she removed the final coat.
All that was there was a dead rat."

A dead rat! "sigh"

There's no doubt in my mind that children enjoy these books. I did! I'm disappointed, but I did learn that not all books were meant to be enjoyed by children AND adults. That said, from looking at Amazon reviews, plenty of adults enjoy these books, too. They're just not for me, though!!! (less)

like · see review

Oct 31, 2011 lprater rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Popular Series: I found this fun, easy to read book about a people attending and working in a school with classroom stacked one one top of the each other enjoyable. I love the structure of the book, with each chapter focusing on one student or teacher. This format provides a great platform for class discussions on characters. I thought the author cleverly began the book with the mean classroom teacher, Mrs. Gorf(frog spelled backward), turning herself into an apple and then replaced by Ms. Jewls...more

like · see review

Dec 01, 2009 LizG rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a kids books that adults won't mind reading to young ones at bedtime (5+). Lighthearted and a bit wacky, it's about students in a school that was supposed to be 30 classrooms all on one level, but the builder made a mistake and stacked each classroom one on top of the other. It only gets weirder from there.

Note: There is no 19th story. Period.

I may just pick up a copy for my niece or nephew this Christmas, since I never like to get them the stuff everyone else has. It would also make a...more

like · see review

Mar 24, 2012 Jennifer rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult-2012

"This book contains thirty stories about the children and teachers at Wayside School. But before we get to them, there is something you ought to know so that you don't get confused. Wayside school was accidentally built sideways. It was suppose to be only one story high, with thirty classrooms all in a row. Instead it is thirty stories high, with one classroom on each story. The builder said he was very sorry. The children at Wayside like having a sideways school. They have an extra-large playgr...more

like · see review

Jan 07, 2011 Ben Davis rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ben Davis January 6, 2011

Sideways Stories of Wayside School

I like this book because each chapter had a different characters story. Why it is called Sideways Stories of Wayside School is because when the workers built the school they made a big mistake. Instead of building a flat 30 classroom school, the workers made the mistake of building it 30 stories high with a classroom on each floor. In each chapter there is a story about one of the children or teachers at Wayside School. Some of the stori...more

like · see review

Sep 09, 2011 Jed L rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I picked up this book again because I was reminded of it while reading Catch-22. Sideways stories was one of my favorite books growing up as a kid and I think it set me up to enjoy Catch-22 as well. Sideways Stories is eccentrically funny, but also surprisingly deep in symbolism and metaphor. The premise of the book is a school built sideways--that is 30 stories high instead of 30 classrooms longs. There are 30 chapters and each chapter is about a certain character. Some of these chapters are ju...more I picked up this book again because I was reminded of it while reading Catch-22. Sideways stories was one of my favorite books growing up as a kid and I think it set me up to enjoy Catch-22 as well. Sideways Stories is eccentrically funny, but also surprisingly deep in symbolism and metaphor. The premise of the book is a school built sideways--that is 30 stories high instead of 30 classrooms longs. There are 30 chapters and each chapter is about a certain character. Some of these chapters are just plain funny and witty while others have a lot of depth to them.

For example, the chapter on Joe is ripe with commentary about the education system. Joe has an unusual problem. He can't count correctly. His teacher asks him to count to 10. His response is 4,6,2,1,7,6,3,9,8,10. He gets the right answer, but he does it the wrong way. His teacher teaches him to count, 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 and asks him to count to 5. His response: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10. This time it was the correct method, but the wrong answer. Neither are satisfied until he goes through a silly and intricate solution. But the story behind the story is about how the education often cares more about students learning the right way than what the students actually learn.

Another example is the Three Erics. There is Eric Bacon, Eric Fry and Eric Ovens. Two of the Erics are fat, one is skinny. But everyone assumes they all are fat. Two of the Erics are terrible athletes, the other is superb. But everyone assumes they all are terrible at sports. And so on. I like this chapter because it looks at the way kids--and adults--make stereotypes and hold onto them even when faced with obvious facts stating otherwise.

Other stories address the inability for real leaders to lead, how some people see only bad qualities in others, the ridiculous demand society has to accomplish demands that can't be accomplished and how some people are perceived bad only because of their reputation.

This book is a gem for both adults and kids. It is short, snappy and fun just like Catch-22 for kids but adds a zaniness--laughing walls, evil rats, rainbow colored mustaches--that Catch-22 instead fills with despair, sadness and frustration.

This book will be one of the first on my children's bookshelves and certainly a must read bedtime story book.(less)

1 like · like · see review

Jun 12, 2012 Emily rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This remains one of the whackiest, most bizarre books I've ever read. It's about a school that has one classroom per floor (except there's no 13th floor), and each chapter is about a kid at the school. My favorite chapter was Damian, about a new kid who shows up, kind of smelly and wearing a yellow raincoat. The teacher demands he remove the raincoat, and he takes it off, only to reveal another one. He unpeels raincoat after raincoat, getting smellier the whole time, the teacher getting angrier...more

1 like · like · see review

Feb 17, 2010 Ch_hayley Medsker rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-sci-fi

I remember reading Louis Sachar's Sideways Stories from Wayside School when I was younger. However, there have been modifications to the series in recent years. The Sideways series is a favorite of some of my high reading second graders. The Wayside School was supposed to be one story high, with 30 classrooms side by side; instead, it was built sideways, with 30 one-classroom stories. The cast of characters and the events that occur are sure to provide some giggles as well as confusions to non-a...more

like · see review

Dec 30, 2012 Catie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Catie by: Flannery

Shelves: children-s, favorite-books, read-in-2012, series, me-and-the-girls

We pulled this unassuming little book out of my husband’s childhood bookshelf over Thanksgiving break (my in-laws seriously never get rid of anything) and we had absolutely no idea what kind of wonderful craziness lay waiting for us inside. We had been reading The Phantom Tollbooth…but I kind of sort of accidentally/on purpose left it at home.

Listen, I’m not saying The Phantom Tollbooth isn’t a brilliant book…with the wit and the puns and the wit and the plays on perspective and the…wit…and the…...more We pulled this unassuming little book out of my husband’s childhood bookshelf over Thanksgiving break (my in-laws seriously never get rid of anything) and we had absolutely no idea what kind of wonderful craziness lay waiting for us inside. We had been reading The Phantom Tollbooth…but I kind of sort of accidentally/on purpose left it at home.

Listen, I’m not saying The Phantom Tollbooth isn’t a brilliant book…with the wit and the puns and the wit and the plays on perspective and the…wit…and the…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Seriously, there’s a point where you just want to throw up your hands and scream, “oh my god Norton Juster, not everything in this world has to MEAN SOMETHING!!!”

Enter Sideways Stories From Wayside School. Wayside School was accidentally built thirty stories high. It’s a place where students get transformed into apples, where they’re encouraged to sleep through class, where that new kid in a stinky raincoat is much more insidious than he outwardly appears. It’s a place where people flavored ice-cream is made and enjoyed (except the Kathy flavored one – that curmudgeon will never change), where no substitute teacher is ever to be trusted, and where “you don’t need a reason to be happy.”

It’s a place of absurd humor that never speaks down to the intelligence of a child. It’s a place that made both of my daughters (and myself) completely engaged in story time. I think I enjoyed reading these out loud just as much as they enjoyed hearing them. It’s a place that almost never has to mean anything at all, but that occasionally does in surprisingly brilliant ways.

This is the one and only book that my daughter has begged and pleaded to take to bed with her so she could keep reading it. We gave her the sequels for Christmas and she immediately pulled one out and wanted to read it right away. (It ended up being the third one, but it almost made more sense to read these out of order.) Life has pretty much been kicking my ass lately, and reading these stories out loud to my girls at night has been the best stress reliever. It’s not every author who will challenge one to attempt a “French donkey with tonsillitis” voice. But of course I had to try.
(less)

13 likes · like · see review

Oct 30, 2012 Bryce Ulep rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I think Sideways Stories from Wayside School deserves 5 stars. I think it deserves because it was written so kids will like it an understand it. I also liked it because I really like humor. When I was younger I used to remember watching the TV show and I said I want to read that book someday. I read the book and it was hilarious.

I was always kind of laid back like when Joe had to stay in from recess because he had to learn how to count. I thought it was weird because he always got the number wit...more

like · see review

May 07, 2008 Myla rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, childrens

I'm not sure that I loved this book as much as my kids did. The chapters were short (which was a bonus) but the stories were a little bizarre (which my kids loved). I glossed over the parts where kids were mean to each other or called each other names - I'm just not ready for my preschoolers to start that yet! But it was fun and like I said, the kids loved it.

1 like · like · see review

Jan 31, 2013 Jude F. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have a lot to say about this book, but this review is on the theme. This book is a weird, but enjoyable book, quite amazing how someone could think so creatively. With all the certainly sideways stories, there are obviously many themes. I think the theme is creativity, it may not be inferred,but I was thinking about what the author was thinking while he was writing the book. He was thinking how no other would think. Most books have morals, this book really doesn't. it is more of a fun book tha...more

1 like · like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 99 100 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
BYU-Adolescent Li...: Sideways Stories from Wayside School - Louis Sachar	1	1	May 22, 2013 09:02pm
What's The Name o...: Strange Mysterious school - SOLVED [s]	9	43	Apr 20, 2013 06:04pm
Goodreads Feedback: Malware detected on book page	2	149	Oct 25, 2012 02:28pm

combine
Other Editions (23)

More editions...

Genres

Childrens

453 users

Humor

211 users

Young Adult

162 users

Fantasy

73 users

Short Stories

65 users

Childrens > Middle Grade

54 users

Childrens > Juvenile

53 users

Humor > Funny

52 users

Academic > School

35 users

Childrens > Chapter Books

35 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Louis Sachar

Louis Sachar (pronounced Sacker), born March 20, 1954, is an American author of children's books.

More about Louis Sachar...

Books by Louis Sachar

Wayside School Is Falling Down (Wayside School #2)

Wayside School Gets A Little Stranger (Wayside School #3)

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About Sideways Stories ...

2 trivia questions
3 quizzes

More quizzes & trivia...

Quotes from Sideways Stories From ...

“You need a reason to be sad. You don't need a reason to be happy.” — 196 people liked it

“Dana had four beautiful eyes. She wore glasses. But her eyes were so beautiful that the glasses only made her prettier. With two eyes she was pretty. With four eyes she was beautiful. With six eyes she would have been even more beautiful. And if she had a hundred eyes, all over her face and her arms and her feet, why, she would have been the most beautiful creature in the world.” — 0 people liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: Sideways Stories from Wayside School
avg rating	preview: Sideways Stories from Wayside School Goodreads rating: 4.11 (39192 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/715403.Sideways_Stories_from_Wayside_School?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1201742612l/715403.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/715403.Sideways_Stories_from_Wayside_School?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar[/url]

Sideways Stories from Wayside School (Wayside School)

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website