"Sideways Stories from Wayside School" -Louis Sachar

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Book Title:

Sideways Stories From Wayside School

Author:

Louis Sachar

Illustrator:

Adam McCauley

Type of Book:

Novel

Age Level:

8-12

My Star Rating:

***

Summary

• At Wayside school, things are a bit out of the ordinary, for one thing, the school is 30 stories high with only one classroom per story. The school is also comprised of characters with unique habits and silly ways of doing normal things.

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  My Thoughts

• This is the first time I had ever read “Sideways Stories from Wayside School”, what a fun chapter book! I love how the chapters are short, each, telling different stories about the students and faculty of Wayside. With the silly characters and surprising events, this book is so fun and easy to get sucked into! For instance, some of my favorite characters include, Mrs. Gorf who turns kids into apples,  John, who can only read upside down, Joe, the boy who can’t count right, but always gets the correct answer, and finally, the boy with big hands and big feet, named Nancy. This novel, suggested for the ages 8-12, is a great book to use in getting the class excited about reading/showing the class how reading can be silly and a lot of fun.

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How to use in the Classroom?

• “Sideways Stories from Wayside School” could be a great tool in settling the class down after recess or lunch. Perhaps reading a chapter each day right after the busyness of lunch or recess would help to calm the kids down enough to start the more in depth reading or class conversations. This book would be a great read aloud, because it would ignite giggles and create a fun loving community of readers. This book could also be used in teaching about chapter books, students could read through this book to get the hang of Sachar’s writing, and then try to write a few short chapters of their own. Perhaps the class could even work together to compile a book about their own classroom adventures…(Ex: “Silly Stories from _______’s Classroom”) Each child would write a short chapter to be fit into the class book of silliness. This would allow for the writing process to be taught and used, as well as, a way to unite as a classroom in imagination and fun. There is also a DVD of Wayside Stories, this DVD could be shown in class, as an ending to a Wayside unit. 

More Resources 

1. For more information about the book/characters Click Here.
2. For more information about the author Click Here.
3. To see the "Wayside" Movie Trailer  Click Here.