Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger (Five Stars)

Children's fiction
Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger
Louis Sachar
Avon Camelot
©1995
ISBN: 0-380-72381-6
168 pages
US $4.50/CAN $6.50

"Hooray! Wayside School is open again!
"All the kids from Wayside School had to spend 243 days in horrible schools while Wayside was closed to get rid of the cows (Don’t ask!). Now the kids are back and the fun begins on every floor. Miss Mush has prepared a special lunch of baked liver in purple sauce, and it’s Pet Day on the 30th floor – with dogs and cats and frogs and skunks and pigs, and an orange named Fido causing a terrible commotion. In Mrs. Drazil’s class, they’re throwing a coffeepot, a sack of potatoes, a pencil sharpener, and a light bulb out the window to see which hits the ground first. But the big surprise is Mrs. Jewls is expecting a baby – but one named Cootie Face or Bucket Head – and a substitute teacher is coming – and everyone knows what that means…"

Louis Sachar is one of the funniest writers I have ever known. I own the first ‘Wayside School’ book, and I love reading it. I like the character development; each child has a little quirk that makes them special, and the book is totally about revealing it. This ‘Wayside School’ book comes in chapters that are like short stories, but the entire book does move smoothly down a story line and to the conclusion. He never drops characters or forgets an important reference. As far as writing humour for children goes, Sachar reigns supreme!

Soon I’ll read and review another Sachar favourite, ‘Holes’.