Louis Sachar returns to Wayside School with a new collection of stories about Mrs. Jewls' class of 29 students on the 30th floor.

These books were a lot of fun to read growing up and it was pretty easy to slip back into the characters. I never knew a third book had come out! The only issue is that my adult imagination is too deficient to add details, or the stories in 'Sideways' and 'Falling Down' were more fleshed out.

I mean, I know one of those "fleshed out" stories was about a frustrated janitor picking up paper and pencils from the ground outside before hauling a heavy box to the 30th floor. At the top the teacher thanks him, removes a computer, and promptly throws it out a window. The class was learning about gravity and computers are much faster than paper and pencil. Har har. It's great stuff, but I remember being able to picture each student and get a feel for their character and in this volume I'm pulling on decades-old memories and wasn't given much that was new.

Except for friendship and the metaphorical Cloud of Doom, which doesn't get more specific than that, which was...nice. We just needed a touch of Doom.

I won't share any stories from the new book. You should check it out yourself.

Wayside School

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Previous: 'Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger'

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