Wayside School Gets A Little Stranger (2004) - Plot & Excerpts
Unlike the other two Wayside School books, I never read this one as a youth. Three big things differentiate this book from the others in the series:(1) This third book introduces a slew of new characters when, for the most part, the Wayside School series has stuck to the same group of characters. (The second book made very few introductions to new characters: the school principal, a new student named Benjamin Nushmutt and the reality behind Miss Zarves and the class on the nineteenth floor.)(2) The setting of this book stretches beyond Wayside School, both in the form of backstories for new characters or off-campus moments involving the students. Something about the way the first two books were contained within the walls of Wayside School made it all the more strange.(3) This book tries harder than the other two books in building a plot along the way, chapter by chapter. As a result, not all the chapters feel like a complete story, but rather a set-up for a chapter to follow. Sachar flirted with this in the other books, but it becomes the norm in Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger.All of these big changes make sense, in a way. How else does one build upon a beloved series? By expanding the world the characters live in.***The book mostly deals with a string of substitute teachers, a line as long and strange as the Professor of the Dark Arts at Hogwarts. Each substitute has her quirks and backstory. What held the book back for me were the backstories (which took chapters away from the kids' stories) and how each substitute had a clear mean streak. The final third of this book, however, focuses on the psychological manipulation of their final substitute, which rubbed me the wrong way. It felt more like the cackling cruelty Roald Dahl than the winsome weirdness of Wayside School. Sure, this isn't the first true villain to enter the Wayside world, but had the original book, Sideways Stories from Wayside School, featured Mrs. Gorf as the class's teacher throughout the book, it would have grown tiring. (Students suffering through a mean teacher? Seen it! What else is on?) Something about the loopy-but-nice Mrs. Jewls worked for the first two books; I didn't necessarily trust her sanity, but never feared or felt bad for the children.Flaws aside, Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger has absurd spurts and plays with the form in ways I missed in the silly-cute second book, Wayside School is Falling Down. It also has some wonderful moments of the students interacting as a class, as opposed to just focusing on a single student's predicament. I definitely had more outbursts of laughter in this book than in book two.***I would have much preferred each book in the series to focus on a different classroom in Wayside School, each with its own quirks...but the well of inspiration Sachar found in the first book may not be so easy to draw from time and time again. Focusing on the same class of students probably seemed a good challenge for him as a writer. But I think what made the first book so beloved was the novelty of each character having a different quirk, not necessarily a profound connection readers felt for a particular character's quirks that necessitated revisiting the same character again and again.
I remember getting my copy of Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger from the Scholastic Book Club and getting really excited because the cover glowed in the dark! But this isn’t the same cover. In this book, we get to learn more about Louis the Yard Teacher such as how his mean teacher tormented him and he even gets a little love story. A cute scene is when the kids are giving Louis advice about how to win a women over like telling her she’s got eyes like the moon or bringing her candy and flowers. I like Eric Bacon’s advice most of all which is how I like to do it: go up to her and say “Hey, baby! How about a date?”Instead of each chapter being about a different kid there are a few chapters dedicated to developing longer storylines and while I like the longer storylines, it also takes away from the vignettes that reveal more about each kid. A few chapters also didn’t do anything for me but this book is sweeter than the others. Be sure to shut the goozack while you’re reading this because you may laugh out loud. And if you don’t like it, you can “rub a monkey’s tummy with your head!”
What do You think about Wayside School Gets A Little Stranger (2004)?
The Wayside School series book were my absolute favorite chapter books when I was in elementary school. I read all three books numerous times and my third grade teacher would always read them to us after recess. “Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger” is the third book in the series and is my favorite one. The series is about a school that is 30 levels high. Each level has its own little craziness and the kids at this school are always coming across new occurrences. In this book, the children return to Wayside school only to find out some wacky things are happening. This is a fiction book that is definitely humorous. I would say it is aimed for elementary students in third through fifth grade. As a teaching tool, it would be good to point out all the diversity of wayside school and how school can be fun and interesting. It always creates adventures in the kid’s minds and sparks imagination.
—Katelyn Lopez
This series was one of those that I loved growing up. They are very weird and quirky, but that is what makes them so enjoyable. They are books that make you stop and think, but not in an intense way. The books are full of things that just don't make since, but that is what grabs your attention. These books could be enough to get any to pay attention.This book begins with Wayside School finally reopening. As the book continues weird things continue to happening in a very unordinary school. You will have to read further to find out more!I would use this as a book that students could read to self, or a fun read aloud. I would not use these books for instruction, but as something I could use during times that we wrap up early, or if we just need something light hearted.
—Shannon Porter
Wacky. Only in a kid's book. Some of the chapters are confusing but funny. Ms. Jewls takes maternity leave early because her doctor doesn't want her to climb the 30 flights to the classroom. The kids have a series of very odd substitutes including a teacher who steals their voices with his nose, a nice teacher who keeps two notebooks with a list of students who still haven't done their homework and chases after them years later, and a teacher with three ears who can hear what people think and tries to make them miserable because she had her heart broken once. There's also a very odd principal, Louis the Playground supervisor whom everyone seems to love (named after the author who had that job at one point) and a school cook who saves the day and cooks really odd dishes. Add to that all the students, and it's the kind of book that kids will have a good laugh over. I found the principals statements to be among the funniest with the stairs and the new elevator: "I don't want the same kind of chaos that we have on the stiars every day. I don't know how many times I have to tell you, When you go up the stairs, stay to the right. When you go down the stairs, stay to the left. But still everyone keeps bumping into each other......That won't happen on the elevators. I have personally designed a special safety system. There are two elevators. One is blue. One is red. When you want to go up, you take the blue elevator. When you want to do down, you take the red elevator. It's that simple. You can't go wrong!..." The chapter ends with "And so, at last, Wayside School got elevators. A blue one and a red one. They each worked perfectly one time -- and never could be used again." (p. 112) That gives you a pretty representative sample of the more adult jokes underlying the more obvious kid's humor. Enjoy.
—Kirsten
