REVIEW: Eight Days of Luke

Jones, D.W.  (1975).  Eight Days of Luke.  New York:  Greenwillow Books.

226 pages.


Appetizer:  David Allard is on break from school and instead of being sent of on an educational tour, his relatives have forgotten he was supposed to come home and so he is stuck with them and their criticisms of him.

At first it seems like it will be a complete torture, but after chanting a random mix of words, a strange boy named Luke appears.  Luke claims that David released him from his prison and is indebted to him.  David just thinks Luke is one of the kids from the neighborhood, but when it becomes clear that Luke has a magical talent with fire and strangers appear looking for Luke, another each day.  David makes a deal with one of the strange men to try to keep Luke out of his prison for good, if only David can prevent the strangers from finding Luke for one week.

Although the actual story is subtle and readers who aren't already familiar with Norse mythology may not even notice that all of the strangers who visit David trying to find Luke are gods from Norse myth (and Luke himself is also one of the gods).  It becomes a little more obvious by the end, but I feel like this is one of those books where a teacher has to explain some of the details to get the broader significance.  Otherwise it's just this boy who helps this other boy.  And there are weird adults.  Unhappy relatives.  Unexplained magic.  People unsurprised by unexplained magic.  And lots of talk about cricket.

I've met dozens of readers who are in love with Diana Wynne Jones's books.  Literally.  They want to marry her despite the age difference.  But I have to say, when I had read some of her young adult books in the past, I had trouble getting into them.  Her characters just don't draw me in.  I had less trouble with this as I read Eight Days of Luke.  I think I had an easier time because this is more of a middle grade book and because, after Luke was introduced, it was a pretty fast-paced read.

I still felt the book lacked tension though.  It's one of those older fantasy novels in which a character only has a limited time to, say, save the world, perhaps.  And instead of immediately running off to save said world, the protagonist has tea.  Or runs off to play cricket.  And I'm left wondering if this is proper day-saving behavior.

Because if I were ever tasked with saving the world, I'd make sure that that bit of work would be my number one priority.  I'd be on top of it.  Probably, I'd even make a check list on a sticky note to make sure I didn't forget any of the world-saving steps.  You hear that, fates/hero-audition-panel?  I would devote all my efforts to saving the world.  No tea or cricket for me.  Just full-time world saving effort.  Now, I wouldn't say the world is actually at stake in Eight Days of Luke, but David also delayed his efforts to save Luke because he feared he'd be inconveniencing his aunt who would have to give him a ride.  Or something.

*Yawn*  How un-tense is that situation?  It's like getting a myth-y brain massage that, at the end of the massage session, you can't help but wonder of you were cheated because you fell asleep and couldn't properly keep track of the time the massage took.  But on the plus side, you're tension free.

Who else could use a massage right now?

ALSO, also, whenever I read the title of this book in my head, I inevitably wound up with the song Eight Days a Week by the Beatles stuck in my head.  That woke me up a little.  Then I had to sing the song out-loud as I wandered around my place.  My cats did not appreciate the noise.  My neighbors probably didn't either.

Who can't carry a tune?  This girl.

Eeeeeeight DAAAAys a WeeeeEEEEEEK!  I LoooOOOOOOoooOOOOoooove You!


Dinner Conversation:

"Unlike most boys, David dreaded the holidays.  His parents were dead and he lived with his Great-Aunt Dot, Great-Uncle Bernard, their son Cousin Ronald and Cousin Ronald's wife Astrid; and all these four people insisted that he should be grateful for the way they looked after him.
David tried to be grateful.  They sent him to a boarding school which, as schools go, was not bad.  Most holidays they arranged for him to go on an Educational Tour or to a Holiday Camp, and these were usually interesting enough to make up for David's not knowing any of the other boys who went to them. He did feel grateful when Cousin Ronald pointed out that he had opportunities which few other boys were given.  But when he was at home in Ashbury and not on a Tour or at Camp, he found it much harder to be grateful.  And the older he grew, the harder he found it." (p. 1)

"At last he found the best combination of all.  He could really almost believe it was words, fierce, terrible words.  They asked to be said.  And they asked to be said, too, in an important, impressive way, loudly, from somewhere high up.  David climbed to the top of the compost heap, crushing baby marrows underfoot, and, leaning on the handle of the spade, he stretched the other hand skyward and recited his words.  Afterward, he never remembered what they were.  He knew they were magnificent, but he forgot them as soon as he said them.  And when he had spoken them, for good measure, he picked up a handful of compost and bowled it at the wall.
As soon as he did that, the wall started to fall down." (pp. 28-29).

"I'm truly grateful to you.  You let me out of a really horrible prison."  He smiled happily and pointed with one slightly blistered finger to the ground under the wall.
This was too much for David, who, after all, had been there to see that nothing but flames and snakes had come from the ground.  "Pull the other leg," he said.
Luke looked at him with one eyebrow up and a mischievous, calculating look on his filthy face.  He seemed to be deciding just how much nonsense David could be brought to swallow.  Then he laughed.  "Have it your own way," he said.  "But I am grateful, and I'll do anything I can in return."  (p. 37).

"...You have to say that if I can keep Luke safe till the end of the holidays, then you'll stop looking for him and won't punish him or hurt him if you find him after that."
"Agreed," said Mr. Wedding.  "But let's not make it so long.  Let's say that if you can keep Luke safe until next Sunday, then he's safe for good.  All right?"
This shook David a little.  Mr. Wedding must be very sure of winning to set such a short limit.  But he felt he had agreed to too much already to refuse a detail like that.  "All right," he said." (pp. 114-115)


Tasty Rating:  !!!

REVIEW: The Best Christmas Pageant Ever--Will you be in attendance?

Robinson, B.  (1972).  The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.  New York: HarperTrophy.

80 pages.


Appetizer:  The Herdmans are the worst kids in town.  They smoke cigars, cause trouble in their classes, lie steal and they burned down Mr. Shoemaker's toolhouse (which really worked for them, since they got to steal the police's doughnuts).


It's all Charlie's fault that they wound up involved in the Christmas Pageant though.  The six Herdman children attend church, for the first time ever, looking for extra snacks because of what Charlie said and they wound up auditioning for the pageant because they love movies.  The Herdmans intemidate (or take unwanted roles) and end up with all of the leads in the play.

The pageant may never be the same.


Yet another classic book I never managed to pick up when I was a kid.  (I also don't think I ever watched the made for TV movie.  Is that something I should try to hunt down on Netflix, FBDR?)  I actually don't think I'd ever heard of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.  But one of my students reviewed it last quarter and it seemed fun enough that I wanted to pick it up for myself.  Little do my students know, I steal book ideas from them aaaaaall the time.  (Except I tell them that.  I'm horrible at keeping secrets.)

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is very fun.  It made me laugh several times and put me in the holiday spirit (which is what I was going for.  YAY!).  It's a fast read and would probably make a good pre-Christmas read aloud, for both kids who haven't heard the nativity story before and for those who are so familiar with it they have it memorized, zzzzzzzzzzzzz.

I did have trouble turning off my teacher eyes as I was reading though.  The Herdmans' father abandoned them.  Their mother works two jobs (but turned down some welfare money because she'd rather work than spend time with her children).  The kids only pass their classes because the teachers don't want to deal with them for a second year (in which case, they'd also have a younger Herdman brother or sister to also deal with).  Reading all of that made me want to be the siblings' teacher (but possibly not all at once) and, I don't know, intimidate the shiz out of them or something.  No, probably a teacher would have to go a more mothering route...and be super vigilant so he or she wouldn't end up with a surprise clump of worms in his/her pockets or hair.  I'd try a number of different tactics....

You see what I mean!  I couldn't turn off the teacher perspective and just enjoy the book.  But it all ended up being okay, because those kids were super-curious about the story of Jesus, and helped their classmates and town to see the story in a new light.

As I was reading, there was some dated language and some dated gender roles, but I was very interested in the narrator.  Robinson uses an unnamed narrator to tell the story.  It reminded me of The Great Gatsby, in that both have a secondary character sharing the story.

Also, it was particularly fun reading this after having read about this experience with the nativity play over at Hyperbole and a Half.  Enjoy!



Dinner Conversation:

"The Herdmans were absolutely the worst kids in the history of the world.  They lied and stole and smoked cigars (even the girls) and talked dirty and hit little kids and cussed their teachers and took the name of the Lord in vain and set fire to Fred Shoemaker's old broken-down toohouse.
The toolhouse burned right down to the ground, and I think that surprised the Herdmans.  They set fire to things all the time, but that was the first time they managed to burn down a whole building" (p. 1).

"They were just so all-around awful you could hardly believe they were real:  Ralph, Imogene, Leroy, Claude, Ollie, and Gladys--six skinny, stringy-haired kids all alike except for being different sizes and having different black-and-blue places where they had clonked each other.
They lived over a garage at the bottom of Sproul Hill.  Nobody used the garage anymore, but the Herdmans used to bang the door up and down just as fast as they could and try to squash one another--that was their idea of a game.  Where other people had grass in their front yard, the Herdmans had rocks.  And where other people had hydrangea bushes, the Herdmans had poison ivy" (p. 4).

"Mother didn't expect to have anything to do with the Christmas pageant except to make me and my little brother Charlie be in it (we didn't want to) and to make my father go and see it (he didn't want to).
Every year he said the same thing--"I've seen the Christmas pageant."
"You haven't seen this year's Christmas pageant," Mother would tell him.  "Charlie is a shepherd this year."
"Charlie was a shepherd last year.  No...you go on and go.  I'm just going to put on my bathrobe and sit by the fire and relax.  There's never anything different about the Christmas pageant."
"There's something different this year," Mother said.
"What?"
"Charlie is wearing your bathrobe" (pp. 15-16).


Tasty Rating:  !!!


Just in case you were wondering, I totally scheduled this post in advance.  In the real world, I'm probably playing with new toys.  Or maybe still unwrapping gifties.  Or possibly still asleep.  Any of the three would be good.

REVIEW: The Outsiders

Hinton, S.E.  (1967).  The Outsiders.  New York:  Speak.

180 pages.

To start this post I need to tell you a secret, internetz.  I know most would say it is unwise to share a secret on the internetz, but I think in this case it will be okay.

*Looks around for people who might be eavesdropping*

I haven't read The Outsiders before now.

I know, I know.  That pretty much makes me a YA failure, but never fear.  I am no longer a failure.


Appetizer:  Ponyboy (yes that is his legal name) and his friends are outsiders.  They're from the wrong side of town, they wear their hair long and everyone judges them on sight.  They're the greasers and they are constantly at war against the privileged Socs who live on the other side of town.

When a gang rumble goes wrong, Ponyboy and his friend, Johnny, wind up on the run, with their futures uncertain.

Okay, so over the past couple of years, a handful of students have raved about this book, and I doubted I would share their love.  I'd seen the movie.  I could barely pay attention to it.  Despite the fact that there were a lot of famous actors in the cast, I could keep the boys straight and couldn't remember their names.  (Sidenote--In the introduction to the "platinum edition" of the book, Hinton writes that the actors were a "group of sweet, goofy, incredibly talented and at the same time incredibly normal teenage boys."  *snort*  What happened, Tom Cruise?)

When my students chose to read The Outsiders, I pretty much assumed I would have to suffer through reading it.

Surprisingly, that was not the case.

It took a little while, I initially had to laugh through some of the slang, the fact that Ponyboy described how he wished he looked like Paul Newman, etc. but then I got to the first scene with Cherry Valance (Oh, what a name!) and I somehow got into it.  It was easy to get into the book on an emotional level and feel the frustration of Ponyboy and the other greasers.  This book rings of truth.  I couldn't help but feel for Johnny.

Based on the movie and some of my students' assignments, I had a general memory of the plot, except for the fact that I didn't remember who died when (see the part about not being able to keep the character's names straight--and that was still a problem as I read.  I mean, Dally and Darry?  Come on!  I won't be able to tell those two apart without cues.)

I wouldn't say I thought the book was perfect.  There were some moments when I felt the book told me things instead of showed me.  Plus, with presenting it to younger readers, the danger of the book seeming dated is very real.  But I think if a teacher focuses on the emotional truths he or she can still manage to reach a lot of reluctant readers.


Dinner Conversation:

"When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind:  Paul Newman and a ride home.  I was wishing I looked like Paul Newman--he looks tough and I don't--but I guess my own looks aren't so bad" (p. 1).

"So Dally, even though he could get into a good fight sometimes, had no specific thing to hate.  No rival gang.  Only Socs.  And you can't win against them no matter how hard you try, because they've got all the breaks and even whipping them isn't going to change that fact.  Maybe that was why Dallas was so bitter" (p. 11).

"Why did the Socs hate us so much?  We left them alone.  I nearly went to sleep over my homework trying to figure it out" (pp. 16-17).

"You take up for your buddies, no matter what they do.  When you're a gang, you stick up for the members.  If you don't stick up for them, stick together, make like brothers, it isn't a gang any more.  It's a pack.  A snarling, distrustful, bickering pack like the Socs in their social clubs or the street gangs in New York or the wolves in the timber" (p. 26).


Tasty Rating:  !!!!

REVIEW: Bunnicula

Howe, D., & Howe, J.  (1979).  Bunnicula:  A rabbit-tale of mystery.  New York:  Aladdin Paperbacks.


1416928170

98 Pages.


Appetizer:  Howard the dog and Chester the cat are surprised when their family brings home an unexpected creature from the Dracula movie they had attended:  A rabbit.  The family quickly names their new member Bunnicula, and as the humans--eight-year-old Toby and ten-year-old Pete among them, favor the rabbit, Chester begins to suspect there's more to the small bunny than anyone imagines.  Chester sets about convincing Harold that Bunnicula, who sleeps through the day and escapes his cage at night to suck the juice from vegetables, may be a VAMPIRE!!!!!!!!

So, months and months and months ago, my friend Catherine said, "You should review Bunnicula."
And I was all.  "Good idea!  I will do that!"

And the months passed.

The only reason I got off my bum-bum to review Bunnicula now is because my students chose to read it as their final group read for the quarter.

Let me tell you, it was strange picking this book up.  I remembered that I absolutely loved it when I read it in the fourth or fifth grade.  And I remembered the general idea of a bunny joining the Monroe family and Chester the cat working tirelessly to prove Bunnicula was a vampire bunny.

But when I picked the book up as an adult, I was surprised by the voice of Harold, the family dog and narrator.  He's so....academic?...high-brow?...Smart?  Chester as well.  It surprised me and entertained me.  In this book, it's the humans who are the slow ones.

And Bunnicula?  He's silent.  I mean, really?  Why doesn't that bunny speak?
I once took a folklore class in which the teacher shared a tale about a woman who did not speak and so the objects and people around her starting creating stories about her. That's very much what happens to Bunnicula.

Bunnicula creates a lot of excellent humorous images.  I particularly like when Chester attempts to "steak" Bunnicula by using his paws to pound a slab of meat against the sleeping bunny.  But the best part is, with all the humor, I have yet to meet a child who thinks this book is scary.  Is there anyone out there who will admit to at some point finding the thought of a vampy bunny scary?

Since the book is referenced, a teacher could also try to create some interest in Treasure Island.  Another direction would be to introduce the students to the rest of the Bunnicula series or other vampire stories.


Dinner Conversation:

"I shall never forget the first time I laid these now tired old eyes on our visitor.  I had been left home by the family with the admonition to take care of the house until they returned.  That's something they always say to me when they go out:  "Take care of the house, Harold.  You're the watchdog."  I think it's their way of making up for not taking me with them" (p. 3).

"I joined the family and serious thinking began.  We all peered into the box.  It was the first time I had really seen him.  So, this is a rabbit, I thought.  He sort of looks like Chester, only he's got longer ears and a shorter tail.  And a motor in his nose" (p. 14).

"Let's not have any more arguments.  We'll compromise.  He's a bunny and we found him at a Dracula movie, so we'll call him Bunny-cula.  Bunnicula!  That should make everybody happy, including me" (p. 15).

"There in the moonlight, as the music filtered through the air, sat the bunny, his eyes intense and staring, an unearthly aura about them.
"Now this is the part you won't believe," Chester said to me, "but as I watched, his lips parted in a hideous smile, and where a rabbit's buck teeth should have been, two little pointed fangs glistened" (p. 23).

"Now tell me, Harold, have you noticed anything funny about that rabbit?"
"No," I said, "but I've certainly noticed a lot of funny things about you recently."
"Think about it.  That rabbit sleeps all day."
"So do I.  So do you."
"Furthermore, he's got funny little sharp teeth."
"So do I.  So do you."
"Furthermore, he gets in and out of his cage by himself.  What kind of rabbit can do that?"
"A smart one," I said" (p.45).


To Go with the Meal:

At heart this is a story about sibling rivalry (and vampire bunnies!  AND remembering to eat your veggies!).  A teacher could use this book to discuss the animosities that can emerge when new children are introduced to a class, a group of friends or a family.  Topics under this heading would include not to jump to conclusions, keeping in mind that although a new sibling often gets an unfair amount of attention, that doesn't mean the parents love the rest of the children any less, etc.

Having said that though, this book is probably best as a fun read.  

But if a teacher is desperate for activities to go with the book, he or she could discuss (age appropriate) folklore about vampires, the behaviors of various types of pets and how to care for them.  A creative route would be to have students imagine the conversations their own pets or favorite animal might have.

Tasty Rating:  !!!!

Banned Book Week REVIEW: In the Night Kitchen

Sendak, M.  (1970).  In the Night Kitchen.  New York:  Harper Collins Publishers.

0064434362

PLOT SUMMARY:  A young boy named Mickey is having trouble sleeping because of all the noise coming from the kitchen.  He goes on an adventure, losing all his clothes and falling through the floor into the Night Kitchen where he searches for milk for the morning cake.

Okay, so here's the thing I avoided saying in that little summary.  Initially, the Night Kitchen bakers bake Mickey into a cake.  Some kids, will find this freaky.  I mean, there is literally this picture where Mickey's little hand is presumably waving, trying to escape the batter:

Weird, right?

The illustrations are dark and kind of bland, but they do create a fantastical world in which getting that oh-so-necessary cup of milk is essential (making this a wonderful book to share with kids who don't want to drink their milk).

The majority of the text of this book is one long, poetic run-on sentence.

Reasons Censored:

In the Night Kitchen is the 25th most banned book of the 1990s.  But since it hasn't made the top 10 list of challenged books in the 2000s, the ALA doesn't give the reasons for the challenges.

So, here's my guess as to why:  There's full frontal nudity, on the part of wee little Mickey.

I was once told a second-hand story about this book by a librarian.  She told me of a library patron who'd checked this book out and when she returned it, she approached the librarian, carrying the book.  The patron whispered, "The little boy is naked in several of the illustrations of this book."  Before the librarian could respond, the library patron continued, "so I went through and drew blue diapers on all the inappropriate illustrations.  You can feel free to send me the rest of the library's copies to me and I'd be happy to draw diapers on the rest."

Oh, library patron.

Potential Counter-Arguments:

While Mickey is naked and his private parts are exposed in several of the illustrations, he's depicted as a small child.  There's nothing sexual about it.  In fact, Mickey is shown to be an age when children often love to run around naked.  I doubt the four or five-year-olds would take offense.

Now, if someone wanted to object to this book on the grounds that the book is a little creepy...well, I'd have to agree.  But I wouldn't take it off my classroom book shelf.  How about you, few and dear readers?

Uses in the Classroom:

This is a fun imaginative read that could be used as a bedtime story.  Since all of the Night Kitchen bakers are male, a teacher could try to challenge traditional gender roles by showing men cooking.  After reading the book, a teacher could guide children in the kitchen and create some of their own fantastical treats.  (Of course, under no circumstances should the teacher attempt to bake any child into a cake.  No matter how delicious kiddie-cake may be.  It's still illegal, or something)

Another option includes discussing where readers really think milk comes from.  They could tell stories about the possibilities, then drink their daily dose of it, chanting "the milk's in me."

Quotes of Note:

"Did you ever hear of Mickey, how he heard a racket in the night and shouted "Quiet down there!" and fell through the dark, out of his clothes, past the moon & his mama & papa sleeping tight."

"And they put that batter up to bake a delicious Mickey-Cake."

"What's all the full?  I'm Mickey the pilot!  I get milk the Mickey way!"

REVIEW: Freight Train

Crews, D.  (1978).  Freight Train.  New York:  Greenwillow Books.

0688841651

Holy crud.  This book is from the 1970s.  When I originally read it, I assumed it had been published within the last few years.  So, when I saw the striking colors of the train and it's smoke, I just assumed it was accomplished with recent technology.  No biggie.  Then I noticed the Caldecott Honor medal on the front of the book.  Which triggered a whole, "why haven't I seen this book before" line of questioning.  Answer:  The book was originally published and awarded before I was born.  Sensical.  But this also caused me to be a tad bit more impressed by the illustrations.

In a simply fashion, Freight Train, in poetic language, labels the different cars of a train that passes by, starting with the back (and much loved caboose) and moving forward.  After that, the picturebook shares action verbs and locations where the train goes.  The illustrations lend themselves to having students name the different colors and shapes.  Young readers will probably be entertained by the blurred colors of the train cars in motion and of the varied color of the smoke.  

I must admit, I learned a bit about the different names of the train cars.  What I would normally call "that one part, the bucket segment, the car that holds stuff that looks like coal" is also known as the "hopper car."  This however is not to be confused with the lower more box-shaped version that also seems to carry coal, called the gondola car.  Not to forget the tender car--which is located where I grew up thinking the coal cart went.  Are the other cars not holding coal?  Am I just confused?  What is the difference among these cars besides shape and size?  I don't know.  Please explain.

Also worth noting, there is an dual English/Spanish language version of the book as well.  (I put the English first, because it seems the book privileges that language)

Activities to Do with the Book:

This could be a wonderful book to share with young students who are interested in trains or transportation in general.  Sometimes a book like this can be especially effective with reluctant readers.

After sharing this book, a parent or teacher could guide a child in putting a model train together, making sure to name all of the different cars.

Also, if a teacher wanted to focus in on the potential pollution caused by the illustrated train, a teacher could discuss the various types of fuel or power used to make different types of transportation work.

Favorite Quotes:

"A train runs across this track."

"Red caboose at the back"

"Orange tank car next"

"Purple box car"

"Freight train.

Moving.

Going through tunnels

Going by cities

Crossing trestles."

REVIEW: The Westing Game

Raskin, E.  (1978).  The Westing Game.  New York:  Scholastic Inc.

 

0439412811

 

The new tenants of Sunset Towers become aware of a mystery when smoke rises from the Westing Mansion nearby, the owner of which was thought long gone.   A few days later, all of the building’s residents are called together and partnered up to compete for the deceased Samual W. Westing’s fortune.  Not everyone is who he or she seems.  And some will go to drastic measures to claim the what they want.

 

This classic mystery has been sparking interest in students for over thirty years now and is still regularly used or recommended in middle grade elementary schools.  It includes subtle themes of empowerment in terms of disability, gender and race, while incorporating a lot of humor and even more tension to keep the student reading.

 

There are only two potential hesitations that I would have over sharing this text.  First, the narrative does include a bomber who sets several small explosions with fireworks.  There are a few injuries due to the bombs, but nothing too serious and there’s no real damage to the building.  But nonetheless, in a post 9/11 world, that alone could give some teachers and parents some serious pause.  The other reason is the fact that the book jumps from perspective to perspective, including those of adults.  The adults would still manage to entertain most readers, but the repeated shifting in points of view may be more difficult for some.

Also, while the text still manages to feel very present, there are a few references that a teacher could take on as a "teaching moment."  One example is a mention of the Black Panthers.

 

After finishing this book, a teacher could recommend Agatha Christie herself as a comparative follow-up.

 

 

Activities to do with the book:

 

This is a wonderful book to encourage students to create charts to track characters,  their traits, their relationships and plot developments involving them.  But instead of presenting it as homework or an organization technique, a teacher can introduce the process as a detective’s tool.  That may spark some interest.

 

This is a fun and classic literature circle mystery or read aloud that does a good job of creating interest with most readers.  It could provoke discussions on race, disabilities, feminism, death and the classic sketch “Who’s on First," as well as lessons on how to play chess.

 

 

Favorite Quotes:

 

“The sun sets in the west (just about everyone knows that), but Sunset Towers faced east.  Strange.

Sunset Towers faced east and had no towers” (p. 1).

 

“Who were these people, these specially selected tenants?  They were mothers and fathers and children.  A dressmaker, a secretary, an inventor, a doctor, a judge.  And, oh yes, one was a bookie, one was a burglar, one was a bomber, and one was a mistake.  Barney Northrup had rented one of the apartments to the wrong person” (p. 6).

 

“[Turtle Wexler] was pure of heart and deed; she only kicked shins in self-defense, so that couldn’t count against her” (p. 20).

REVIEW: Sideways Stories from Wayside School

Sachar, L. (1978). Sideways Stories from Wayside School. New York: Avon Books.

0380698714

This is the first book in Sachar’s famous and much loved Wayside School series. While not lacking action, each chapter presents itself as a character sketch of the students and teachers on the 30th floor of Wayside School, which was accidentally built up vertically instead of the planned horizontally. Sachar (pronounced Sack-er) actually included himself as a character, Louis the yard teacher.

While this series may be best for allowing students to enjoy books that will make them laugh out loud, a teacher could also share a general lesson on metafiction and Surrealism. The teacher would be able to bring in other children’s books (such as Jumanji or Zathura by Chris Van Allsburg) that show absurd or dream-like qualities.
While I remember finding these character sketches immensely entertaining as a child (and I know I wasn’t alone) I had a very different experience reading the series as an adult and as a teacher. I remember as a child, thinking the young replacement for Mrs. Gorf was a good teacher. Reading it this time, I felt Mrs. Jewls still managed to fall short as a teacher when it came to communicating with students.

As the series go on, what initially are basic character profiles extends out into long running jokes and overlapping plots. All of the books demonstrate the fun a writer or student can have with language.
Also, this is a good series to share with undergrads studying to be educators. There are a number of commentaries about different approaches to teaching.

Scroll back up and look at the cover of the cover art of the recent edition.  Go on.  Do it.  Then scroll back down.  Now, it could just be me and my cold of doom.  But it is WAY too busy.  It gives me a headache.  I prefer the cover to the right.  Pleasant and it manages to incorporate the original cover art from the 1970s.  And no headache.  What more could a reader ask for?

Activities to do with the book:

This series is probably best to amuse middle grade readers.

However, if a teacher really wanted to do lessons with this book, he or she could lead students into a discussion of surrealism. As for activities, a teacher could encourage students to record their dreams and turn them into stories.

Also, since there are so many characters in the book, each student in a class could be assigned a character and he or she could play that character if the books were acted out or the student could write a continuation of that character’s story. Another option would be to write a story in which the student was one of the many characters.


Favorite Quotes:

“It has been said that these stories are strange and silly. That is probably true. However, when I told stories about you to the children at Wayside, they thought you were strange and silly. That is probably also true” (p. 9).

“[The student] were afraid of what their new teacher would be like. They had heard she’d be a terribly nice teacher. They had never had a nice teacher. They were terribly afraid of nice teachers” (p. 15).

“Class,” said Mrs. Jewls. “Let’s all thank Louis for his wonderful story.”
Everybody booed” (p. 124).