A school that was supposed to be built with 30 classrooms, was accidentally built with 30 floors all on top of each other. These are the stories that come from those classrooms. I have personally never read this series, a fellow classmate recommended it. It sounds like a great book for kids. I can't wait to find this book and add it to my future library.

3 Stars

Lexile: 460L

Sideways Stories From Wayside School

Guided Reading: Level P

I absolutely love this chapter book. It is a great book for four graders. It's fun and silly. Kids really love the humor within every chapter. There are lots of funny characters that they get to learn about. I would use this book as a shared reading that I  would read to the class as a whole before the end of the day.

Instead of 30 classrooms built NEXT to each other, 30 classrooms were built ON TOP of each other, but without a 19th floor!! Each chapter is a different story about one of the students in the class and of the craziness that happens at the school in Mrs. Jewls class on the 30th floor! I would use this book as a continued lesson, each chapter could be used to identify different traits of the characters or sequence of events and after reading the students could write their own crazy story based on the classroom.

Lexile: 460L

Wayside School was supposed to have 30 classrooms all next to each other on lone level, but in an architectural accident it was built sideways instead. Now 30 stories high with classrooms one on top of another hilarious stories begin to emerge. 

Along the way we meet Mrs. Gorf the meanest teacher of all and Todd who always gets sent home early. John who can only read upside down and more kids from this crazy mixed up school. 

A great independent reader for students. Students can practice their predicting skills as they try and figure out what will happen to Wayside next. Then they can try and create their own sideways story to include or illustrate what they think Wayside looks like. 

Lexile: 460L

Moving Forward Sideways Like a Crab - Sh...

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I received a copy of this book through Goodreads in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't really know anything about the book going into it. The summary on the back cover sounded interesting enough. Once I started reading, I was really confused. The back cover says Jonathan's parents split up, then his mother vanishes and later transitions into a man. So reading this, I assumed Jonathan was raised by his father. It took forever for me to figure out he was raised by a lesbian couple who then separated (one of whom transitions into a man). The summary wasn't wrong, but was rather vague. The family dynamics were very unclear and confusing to start. Even I, as someone who comes from a "non-traditional" family had to reread sections to figure it all out. It was such an easy fix, it seemed silly to start out so vaguely. 

Once I got over that bump, I was ready for the book to get good. Unfortunately, that never happened. "Moving forward sideways like a crab" is the beautiful idea of telling a story from a roundabout way, focusing on all of the surrounding details. This is a great concept, but makes for a very drawn out and dull read. 

At one point, Sydney states, "of course one wants relief after suspense, and I must admit that in a life like mine, there seems to be constant suspense and little relief, even now" (187). This pretty much sums up the book. There is so much buildup and it really doesn't lead anywhere. Nothing amazing or profound happens. By the end, the layout is pretty predictable. It ends right about where you expect it to, with little actually occurring. Yes, there is some emotional stuff and relationship stuff, but it was pretty boring. 

Also, Jonathan himself was a very irritating character. I couldn't get over how whiny, self-centered, and petty he was. I just kept wanting to slap him and shout, "It's not that big of a deal! Chill out!" He seemed so overdramatic all the time.

There were also moments that felt unrealistic. At one point, some of Sydney's friends visit the house. Jonathan overreacts (big surprise) and starts freaking out, babbling on in the narrative, comparing it to a circus and saying other transphobic things. Then he passes out, one of the visitors is nice to him, and he magically is not transphobic anymore. I'm glad he changed, but it came about so suddenly and awkwardly that it didn't feel real. 

Boring book. I bumped it up to 2-stars, because I think it had an interesting idea, but horrible execution.