Sideways Stories from Wayside School (urspr publ 1978; utgåvan 2003)

[Review written by my younger self]
My fifth grade teacher, Mrs. White, read this to the class. It was one of the first books I can remember completely guffawing over. ( )

I read this as a kid and read it to my kids and reread it again in 2020, so clearly it is a lasting book ... He does a great job sketching these characters -- they are silly, but the characters have depth. Just enough lining among the stories for it to hang together but still have each piece stand alone. And what a great villain. ( )

When I read (especially now, as I'm careening through my 50s), I'm in search of those special books which, once read, I'm so grateful I didn't miss it. This is not that book. This is easily skippable and missable. It's fine—if its on hand, if you want a very short story (each chapter is self-contained), or if your know (or are) a struggling/reluctant reader who enjoys absurd teensy tales, then go for it.

But it's not a great classic of the genre, despite its apparent popularity (at least, in my opinion, but that's all I have). The characters are thin, the stories vary in tone from entirely absurd to entirely prosaic, and the plots themselves are not remotely engrossing. In fact, it reads very much like the author was telling oral bedtime stories to his children, and then wrote them down after. I've done that—immortal tales of Bessie the Cow who kept getting into magical trouble—but I didn't write 'em down and publish them, because the quality of spontaneously invented fiction is generally not as high as thoughtful, considered prose.

The story that made the biggest impression was the tale of a boy who having tugged on one pigtail, spoiler alert, felt compelled to tug on the other. The big twist? The class had a 3 strikes rule, so he thought he was safe, until his victim pretended he'd tugged on her again. There. That's the level of thrilling action you can expect.

On the plus side (which is why it's 3 stars from me, not 2), it's got some inventive premises, and I do enjoy absurdism more than if this were a not-entirely-successful and completely prosaic book. He can write—his Holes is terrific, if you haven't tried it yet—but this is not his best work.

(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s). I feel a lot of readers automatically render any book they enjoy 5, but I grade on a curve! ( )

I enjoyed reading this one to Camila. It was just as silly and fun as I remembered it from my first read of it. ( )

The concept of this school being built the wrong way is hilarious in its own way. Louis Sachar has a way of story telling that keeps both adults and children entertained. I appreciate the short chapters and the way he writes the entire book. He focuses on different characters/events in each chapter. My favorite chapter is 19. If you ever read the book, you will understand why I enjoy that chapter so much.