![]() First edition cover. | |
Author | Louis Sachar |
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Genre | Children's literature |
Publisher | HarperCollins |
Publication date | April 27, 1995 |
Media type | Print (in hardcover and paperback) |
Pages | 166 pp (1st edition hardcover) |
ISBN | 0-380-72381-6 (USA paperback) |
OCLC | 34175867 |
Preceded by | More Sideways Arithmetic From Wayside School (1994) |
Followed by | Wayside School Beneath the Cloud of Doom (2020) |
Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger is a 1995 children's short story cycle novel by American author Louis Sachar, and the third book in his Wayside School series. In the book, while the teacher on the 30th story of Wayside School, Mrs. Jewls, goes on maternity leave, her students must deal with multiple problematic substitute teachers.
Mr. Gorf was the son of Mrs. Gorf (who tormented the students before being turned into an apple and eaten). He was never married, causing his students to think he wasn't related to Mrs. Gorf. He had three nostrils in his nose—the middle one had the power to steal people's voices and make them his own. He was so spiteful about the children taking his mother away that he used their voices to call their mothers and insult them. He then lost his own voice, along with the others, when he sneezed them all out, ultimately sneezing his own nose off. The voice he used when he first appeared was stolen from a Scotsman 20 years prior, and his real voice sounds like a French donkey with a sore throat. Even the Scotsman's voice is returned when Mr. Gorf loses his nose. His last name is "Frog" spelled backwards.
Mrs. Drazil keeps a blue journal of all the troublesome students she's had since she started teaching decades ago. She treats the Wayside School students nicely, but not her former students (including Louis). Her last name is "Lizard" spelled backwards.
Wendy has an ear on top of her head that can hear thoughts. When she was dumped by her boyfriend Xavier, she began to make everyone's lives miserable. After listening to the thoughts of Mrs. Jewls' newborn child, she has a change of heart. She also falls in love with Louis and shows everyone her third ear. Louis says that he loves her too; she doesn't have to hear his thoughts, as she can see it in his eyes. Her last name is "Dragon" spelled backwards.
John Sigwald, writing for School Library Journal , indicated that the stories in Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger "will surely tickle the funny bones of Sachar's fans", given the book's "hilarity, malevolence, romance, relentless punning, goofiness, inspiration, revenge, and poignancy". [1] Kirkus Reviews similarly indicated that "Sachar's well-written, sophisticated comedy will appeal to everyone" as "Sachar proves once again that he is a master of all things childish". [2]
Discussing the book's organization and other mechanics, Sigwald noted that the chapters in Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger "are miraculously conflated into a semicoherent story". [1] Kirkus Reviews highlighted the book's "easy vocabulary, short chapters, and wicked pace", which they argue "make the book perfect for reluctant readers". [2] Publishers Weekly , however, found that "the book's pace and punch seem to slacken midway through", with "the funniest vignettes [...] in the first half". [3]
Like previous Wayside School books, Sigwald noted that the book has "an edge [...] that may disturb some adults", such as some of the substitutes who "are over-the-top mean". [1] While comparing the book to those authored by Roald Dahl, Kirkus Reviews similarly mentioned that Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger's "humor is often anarchic, and sometimes in questionable taste, which will make the story a hit with early and middle grade readers". [2]
Kirkus Reviews also found that "Schick's animated b&w drawings provide their own punch at the chapter openings".