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Summary
Summary
Wayside School is back in session in this brand-new, fourth installment in the perennially beloved and bestselling series by Newbery Medal-winning author Louis Sachar.
Your favorite students and teachers are all here. That includes Sharie, who loves her striped-and-spotted umbrella more than anything; Kathy, who has a bad case of oppositosis; Jason, who has to read the longest book in the world; and the rest of Mrs. Jewls's class on the thirtieth floor, who are busily collecting toenail clippings.
Everyone is scrambling to prepare for the all-important Ultimate Test, but meanwhile, there is a mysterious Cloud of Doom looming above them...
More than fifteen million readers have laughed at the clever and hilarious stories of Wayside School. So what are you waiting for? Come visit Wayside School! Kids 7 to 13 will zoom through these chapter books--laughing their way through the fast, funny, silly but relatable stories.
This funny chapter book series includes:
Sideways Stories from Wayside School Wayside School Is Falling Down Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger And now also Wayside School Beneath the Cloud of Doom, the brand-new, fourth installment in the series, and the first in twenty-five years!Author Notes
Louis Sachar was born in East Meadow, New York on March 20, 1954. He attended the University of California, at Berkeley. During his senior year, he helped out at Hillside Elementary School. It was his experience there that led to his first book, Sideways Stories from Wayside School, written in 1976. After college, he worked for a while in a sweater warehouse in Norwalk, Connecticut before attending Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco, where he graduated in 1980. Sideways Stories from Wayside School was accepted for publication during his first week of law school. He worked part-time as a lawyer for eight years before becoming a full-time writer in 1989. His other works include There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom, the Marvin Redpost books, Fuzzy Mud, and Holes, which won the 1999 Newbery Medal, the National Book Award, and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award and was made into a major motion picture.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 3--5--A delightful case of well-written nonsense. Mrs. Jewls's class is back and as wacky as ever. Whether collecting a million toenails or dealing with 'oppositosis,' it's safe to say that nothing is ever normal at Wayside School. Yet when a cloud of doom looms over its walls, things get even stranger. Even the elusive Miss Zarves makes an appearance! After 40 years, Wayside School is still a delight. It still tickles the funny bone with the most ridiculous scenarios. As expected, the characters do lack depth; their only growth is shown through silly antics. Yet parents and librarians will be overjoyed to have their favorite class back. The real question is: Has Wayside stood the test of time? In an age of Dan Gutman's "My Weird School" series, where the text is more excitable and fast-paced, children may not be so enamored by the classic series. VERDICT Parents and librarians will be filled with nostalgia. Recommended for young fiction collections seeking silly school stories.--Rebecca Fitzgerald, Harrison Public Library, NY
Publisher's Weekly Review
Sachar's snappy comedic stride doesn't miss a beat in his series' fourth installment--the first since 1995's Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger--as the curiosities of Mrs. Jewls's 30th-floor classroom multiply more quickly than ever. In order to demonstrate the concept of one million, the teacher announces, "We need to collect a million somethings," and decides (because Terrence happens to be cutting his big toenail at the time) that those somethings will be nail clippings. Dr. Pickle cannily manipulates his hypnotic, pickle-shaped stone to cure Kathy's persistent hiccups, reversing her sour disposition in the process. Wayside gets even wonkier after an ominous cloud settles over the building: the faces of Dana and Principal Kidswatter become stuck in humorously contorted expressions, and students use the cloud as a convenient scapegoat for failing a test and being tardy to school. Yet, "cloud or no cloud," the teacher insists that the kids take the Ultimate Test, in which outlandish challenges allow each student's unique talent to shine. Into the regaling levity, Sachar characteristically slips worthy nuggets about the rewards of kindness and friendship. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 8--12. (Mar.)
Horn Book Review
Yes, per the introductory authors note to this fourth book about the wacky elementary school, its been forty years since the first one, Sideways Stories from Wayside School. As such, Sachar suggests readers might want to read the other three first, wait forty years, and then read this one. Alternately, they could just read it now. The latter is a fine option for the seriess fans, who will cheer the return of Mrs. Jewlss class (absent Mrs. Gorf, Sammy the dead rat, and other menacing weirdoesbut with a handful of new ones), Louis the yard teacher, Miss Mush, and others as they are pulled under the meteorological spell of the Cloud of Doom. Kathy turns nice, Stephen strikes a gong, and Calvin delivers a long-awaited note, among other unpredictable adventures. The class tries to amass a million nail clippings (ewww); the kids keep losing their paper clips; and it all kinda-sorta comes together in the end. With its gonzo humor, nonsensical non sequiturs, and mysterious mustachioed grownups, Wayside School fans should eat this up (spaghetti and feetballs, anyone?). Elissa Gershowitz March/April 2020 p.89(c) Copyright 2020. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Rejoice! 25 years later, Wayside School is still in session, and the children in Mrs. Jewls' 30th-floor classroom haven't changed a bit.The surreal yet oddly educational nature of their misadventures hasn't either. There are out-and-out rib ticklers, such as a spelling lesson featuring made-up words and a determined class effort to collect 1 million nail clippings. Additionally, mean queen Kathy steps through a mirror that turns her weirdly nice and she discovers that she likes it, a four-way friendship survives a dumpster dive after lost homework, and Mrs. Jewls makes sure that a long-threatened "Ultimate Test" allows every student to show off a special talent. Episodic though the 30 new chapters are, there are continuing elements that bind themeven to previous outings, such as the note to an elusive teacher Calvin has been carrying since Sideways Stories From Wayside School (1978) and finally delivers. Add to that plenty of deadpan dialogue ("Arithmetic makes my brain numb," complains Dameon. "That's why they're called numb-ers,' " explains D.J.) and a wild storm from the titular cloud that shuffles the school's contents "like a deck of cards," and Sachar once again dishes up a confection as scrambled and delicious as lunch lady Miss Mush's improvised "Rainbow Stew." Diversity is primarily conveyed in the illustrations.Ordinary kids in an extraordinary setting: still a recipe for bright achievements and belly laughs. (Fiction. 9-11) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Almost twenty-five years after Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger comes this fourth entry in the beloved series, and happily, not a whole lot has changed. The same cast of characters occupies Mrs. Jewls' classroom on the thirtieth floor, and while there remain chapters that work as stand-alone stories, the book as a whole is remarkably cohesive, with callback jokes aplenty sometimes hearkening back to previous titles and several plot threads running throughout. As Mrs. Jewls prepares her students for the Ultimate Test, which tests everything you've ever learned in your whole life, a class project to understand the nature of a million has them attempting to collect that many finger- and toenail clippings. Meanwhile, a mysterious, dark cloud has settled over the school, and whatever it is, it can't be good. Sachar's return to Wayside continues the same side-splitting formula, but a little added polish, overall cohesion, and character development may make this one the best of the bunch. An unbeatable read-aloud option for early middle-grade audiences.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Anything from Newbery Medalist Sachar is sure to draw a crowd, but a return to Wayside School, forty years after its debut, feels extra special.--Ronny Khuri Copyright 2020 Booklist
Table of Contents
| A Note from the Author | p. ix |
| 1 The Bells of Wayside | p. 1 |
| 2 A Million | p. 8 |
| 3 Up and Down | p. 14 |
| 4 Consider the Paper Clip | p. 20 |
| 5 Eric, Eric, and What's-His-Name? | p. 25 |
| 6 Oppositosis | p. 31 |
| 7 The Closet that Wasn't There | p. 38 |
| 8 Science | p. 44 |
| 9 The Gonnnnng | p. 50 |
| 10 Stuck | p. 56 |
| 11 What's the Point? | p. 62 |
| 12 Mrs. Surlaw | p. 67 |
| 13 Umbrella | p. 74 |
| 14 Mr. K and Dr. P | p. 79 |
| 15 The Unbreakables | p. 86 |
| 16 A Short Chapter about a Long Book | p. 92 |
| 17 The Best Principal Ever!!! | p. 96 |
| 18 The Mirror | p. 102 |
| 19 Push-Downs | p. 106 |
| 20 Inside the Closet | p. 111 |
| 21 Breathe | p. 118 |
| 22 The Moment | p. 123 |
| 23 Blame it on the Cloud | p. 128 |
| 24 The Ultimate Test, Day One | p. 133 |
| 25 Jump Rope Arithmetic | p. 139 |
| 26 The Ultimate, Ultimate Test | p. 146 |
| 27 Kachooga Boop | p. 155 |
| 28 The Teacher with the Long Fingernail | p. 161 |
| 29 After the Storm | p. 168 |
| 30 Rainbow | p. 174 |
