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The Sideways Stories From Wayside School series is a popular series of 3 books by Louis Sachar. Sideways Stories From Wayside School, Wayside School Is Falling Down and Wayside School Gets A Little Stranger are the three novel-length books. In 1989, Sachar also released a spinoff, which involves two books of mathematics and puzzles interspersed with stories: Sideways Arithmetic From Wayside School and More Sideways Arithmetic From Wayside School. The books tell many stories of a school built as a tower 30 stories high, with one room per story, but with no 19th story. Each book contains 30 chapters, called stories, complementing the 30 stories in the school.

Contents 1 Books 1.1 Wayside School 2 == 2.1 Miss Zarves' Students 2.2 Staff/Other Adults 2.3 Other 2.4 Stories in the Book 2.5 Trivia 2.6 In other media

[edit] Books

• Sideways Stories From Wayside School
• Wayside School is Falling Down
• Wayside School Gets A Little Stranger
• Sideways Arithmetic From Wayside School
• More Sideways Arithmetic From Wayside School

[edit] Wayside School

[edit] ==

[edit] Miss Zarves' Students

• Virginia – She is a grown woman who says, "You're never too old to learn". She does not know what a bathroom is because she spends her time in Miss Zarves' class without going to the bathroom for 32 years. Something slightly unusual about her is that she said she had been in the class for 32 years, when Miss Zarves had only been a teacher for 30 years.
• Nick – He is a teenager. He appears to be in high school and looks a bit like a football player.
• Ray Gunn – Bebe's "little brother" but he forgot about her because in Miss Zarves class you can't get out and you forget about where you came from and the people who knew you also forget about you.
• Mark Miller – He is Benjamin Nushmutt's alias. Everyone in Miss Zarves's class thinks his name is Benjamin Nushmutt, mirroring the fact that everyone in Mrs. Jewls's class thinks Benjamin's name is Mark Miller.
• Cow – A cow that somehow got into the 19th story. Miss Zarves doesn't like it in her classroom.

[edit] Staff/Other Adults

This is a list of adults who are featured in the stories.

• Mrs. Gorf – She is the original teacher on the 30th story. She was able to turn the kids into apples, but the students managed to make her accidentally turn herself into one; she was then eaten by Louis who thought that she was a real apple. She then appeared on the monkey bars and as a potato salad in the following books. She also appears in the chapter, "Stephen", coming out of the chalkboard, but disappears when Stephen hugs her. It is rumored that her ghost lives in the basement. When her name is reversed, it spells frog. (Sideways Stories From Wayside School)
• Mrs. Jewls – After Mrs. Gorf was eaten, Mrs. Jewls became the teacher. She is much nicer. She has a coffee can of Tootsie Pops as a reward for her students. However, in a chapter in Wayside School is Falling Down, Mrs. Jewls temporarily became mean. She threatened to pour brine on Leslie if she didn't correctly answer all three questions that she asked, and she almost poured it on her, until Paul pushed the vat of brine back and drenched Mrs. Jewls, curing her. She has a cat named MonkeyFace, is married, and has a baby daughter named Mavis (though suggestions from the class could have resulted in Jet Rocket or Bucket Head Jewls if it was a boy, and Rainbow Sunshine or Cootie Face if it was a girl). In a true-or-false question in Sideways Arithmetic From Wayside School it says she is allergic to strawberries. However, it is also said that she likes strawberry yogurt. In another question it says her first name is Shirley, but this is said to be false. She believes that if the class learns 3 things every day, they will know everything.
• Mrs. Benjamin Franklin – Mrs. Franklin is a substitute teacher, who appeared to believe everyone's name was Benjamin thanks to a prank. At the end she said that since they were such good friends, that they could call her by her first name, which was Benjamin. (Wayside School Is Falling Down)
• Mrs. Waloosh – Pronouncing her own name as Mrs. Valoosh, she is a world famous dancer who teaches the tango in the ballroom. She has a strong accent and the students, except Myron, enjoy her class. (Wayside School Is Falling Down)
• Mr. Gorf – Mr. Gorf is a substitute teacher. The students feared him because of his similarity to their mean teacher's name although he appeared nice. He was in fact her vengeful son, and sucked the kids' voices up a third nostril in his nose in order to avenge his mother. He had stolen other peoples' voices as well, including one gentleman he had supposedly met in Scotland. His real voice sound like a donkey with tonsillitis and a French accent. Miss Mush got the kids their voices back by smashing a pepper pie into Mr. Gorf's face. When his name is reversed, it spells frog. (Wayside School Gets A Little Stranger)
• Mrs. Drazil – She was Louis' teacher in school, and she returns as a substitute. She seems nice, but holds grudges and carries an infamous blue notebook of things she never forgets. When her name is reversed, it spells lizard. (Wayside School Gets A Little Stranger, and mentioned in Wayside School is Falling Down)
• Miss Wendy Nogard – Miss Nogard is also a substitute. She has a third ear on the top of her head which can read minds, a power she uses to make everyone else as miserable as her until she falls in love with Louis. The reason she became miserable and evil is Xavier Dalton, a man she met and loved. He loved her also, until she showed him her third ear, then he thought she was a freak, which Wendy heard. When her name is reversed, it spells dragon. (Wayside School Gets A Little Stranger)
• Louis the Yard Teacher – Based on the author who once worked as a playground supervisor, Louis is kind to all the children and has a moustache of many colors. When Mrs. Drazil forced him to shave his moustache, he became professional and went by Mr. Louis but once it grew back, he was the normal Louis again. He has a crush on Miss Nogard and didn't care when he found out about her third ear. He is generally good-natured and the one adult students will turn to for help.
• Mr. Kidswatter – He is the school principal and dislikes all the children. In Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger, he said that he did not want anyone to use the word door, but to use the word goozack instead. He frequently calls people by their wrong name: his chauffeur David is called "James", and his secretary Mrs. Day is called "Miss Night". He frequently works on his rubber band ball, and after an experiment on the 30th story, could never find his coffee pot. He consistently announces how students walking up the stairs should stay on the right, and down the stairs on the left, and complains how the students continue to bump into each other.
• Mrs. Day – She is the secretary. Mr. Kidswatter always refers to her as "Miss Night".
• Miss Mush – She is the school cook and prepares some very unusual meals. Students are averse to her cooking, and her most popular hot lunch is "nothing," which she runs out of often.
• Mr. Pepperadder – He is Miss Mush's assistant. She teases him for being short. (Sideways Arithmetic From Wayside School)
• Miss Zarves – She is the teacher on the nonexistent 19th story. She imprisons her students by giving them 11 hours of busy work and 2 minute breaks to forget about life outside her classroom. She keeps them happy by rewarding them with A's. After the cows invaded Wayside School, one cow found its way into the classroom and always startles her when it moos. She has the ability to draw perfect regular heptagon, but is grumpy that no one appreciates her talent. In a reference to the number 30, she has taught at the school for 30 years. Feeling unappreciated, she leaves the school, but comes back after reassurance from the men with the attaché case.
• Miss Worm – She is the grouchy teacher on the 29th story and apparently is a whiz at the sideways arithmetic as taught by Mrs. Jewls. (More Sideways Arithmetic From Wayside School)
• Dr. Pickell (a.k.a. "Dr. Pickle") – receives his nickname from the green pendant he uses to hypnotize students. He becomes the school psychiatrist who helps kids and makes them do strange things. For example, he hypnotized Paul into licking Leslie's ear whenever she said the word "pencil." (Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger)
• The Men with the Attaché Case – These three men appear in each book. They appear in strange places or at strange times to keep the school in order. They are seen when Jenny arrives at school on a Saturday, and then in the basement to offer Myron his freedom. In the third book, they reassure Miss Zarves that she is needed in the school, even though no one appears to notice her. One man is bald, and two have black moustaches.
• David – incorrectly called James by Mr. Kidswatter, is Mr. Kidswatter's chauffeur.

[edit] Other

• Dr. Jane Payne (born Jane Smith) - Jason's dentist, a former student of Mrs. Drazil. She loves to pull out teeth to get more money out of their clients. Also she spawned the catch phrase 'Rub a monkey's tummy' and when really angry, 'rub a monkey's tummy with your head'. She and her husband Sham Payne married for money and Jane loves her cat and dog more than her husband. To get rid of Mrs. Drazil, Deedee and Jason mention Dr. Payne in a conversation that Mrs. Drazil will overhear and then act upon to ensure Jane will complete her homework from many years ago.
• Xavier Dalton - A shy young man who likes dogs and books by Charles Dickens. He and Miss Nogard fall in love and he proposes to her, but dumps her not long afterwards because he has discovered her secret third ear. He overcomes his shyness afterwards and notoriously breaks the heart of all the women he meets, unaware that the only woman he ever loved was Miss Nogard.
• Ralphie - Todd's baby brother, who Todd brings to school on "Pet Day" because he doesn't have a pet.
• Justin - Jason's unseen older brother.
• Mavis Jewls - Mrs. Jewls' baby daughter, who Mrs. Jewls brings to visit her class at the end of Wayside School Gets A Little Stranger. When Miss Nogard hears Mavis' thoughts, the malice in her heart disappears.
• Mr. Jewls - Mrs. Jewls' unseen husband, mentioned only in passing whenever Dameon's crush on Mrs. Jewls is mentioned.
• Cows - The cattle that invade Wayside School at the end of Wayside School is Falling Down as a result of Mrs. Jewls' cowbell. They can only go up stairs, not down, and Louis is forced to get rid of them in the 243 days that passed between the second and third books.
• Robbers - Robbers that attempt to rob Wayside School during a spelling exercise in Mrs. Jewls' class. Todd gets rid of them peacefully by teaching them the value of spelling and becomes a hero, even though he ends up going home on the kindergarten bus as usual.
• Mac (born Nancy) - Nancy is Mac's girlfriend. Mac and Nancy swap names because Mac is a girl who wants a girl name and Nancy is a boy who wants a boy name.
• Mr. Finch - Mr. Finch made pencils for a very long time, making one cent per pencil, in order to open his own ice cream shop. However, the bag in which he kept the money he had earned ($20,655 to be exact) was lost in the bushes until Maurecia found it (because Joy stole her lunch) and gave it to Louis, who put it in the Lost and Found, where Mr. Finch found it. Mr. Finch gave Maurecia free ice cream at his shop and five hundred dollars as a reward. When Joy told him that Maurecia would never have found the money without her help because she stole her lunch, he gave Joy a pencil.

[edit] Stories in the Book

1. Mrs. Gorf---This story introduces the characters from Wayside School. They have a mean teacher named Mrs. Gorf, who, if they do something wrong, turns them into apples. She is forced to turn them back into humans, but when they cause mischief again, she tries again. But Jenny holds up a mirror, which makes the effect turn on Mrs. Gorf. Now an apple, she is eaten by Louis the yard teacher.

2. Mrs. Jewls---Mrs. Jewls becomes the new teacher after Mrs. Gorf. When she first sees the children, she pictures them as monkeys until the students convince them that they're not monkeys.

3. Joe---Joe is stuck inside at recess because he can't count in the correct order.

4. Sharie---Sharie, who has a big overcoat, sleeps throughout class and ends up falling out of the school.

5. Todd---Todd always got in trouble because he's always picked on by Mrs. Jewls when he goes a very small thing wrong. In the end, he gets sent home on the kindergarten bus.

6. Bebe---Bebe, is helped by Calvin to make 370+ works of art in one hour, but Mrs. Jewls tells her that the quality of art is more important than the amount of drawings made.

7. Calvin---Calvin is sent by Mrs. Jewels to deliver a nonexistent note to the nonexistent Miss Zarves.

8. Myron---Myron becomes class president.

9. Maurecia---After Maurecia has tried all the ice cream flavours, she no longer likes ice cream, so Mrs. Jewls makes ice cream for everyone, with one of each ice cream flavours named after the children themselves.

10. Paul---Paul is unable to resist the temptation to pull Leslie's pigtails.

11. Dana---Dana is suffering from an insane number of mosquito bites.

12. Jason---After Jason gets Joy in trouble, Joy puts her chewing gum on Jason's chair and Jason is stuck to the chair.

13. Rondi---Rondi is confused when other people talk about the non-existent things she has (Particularly her missing two front teeth).

14. Sammy---A new kid named Sammy comes to Wayside School, but something about him doesn't seem right, due to his smell and many raincoats. After removing all of Sammy's raincoats, it's discovered that Sammy's actually a dead rat.

15. Deedee---Deedee just can't seem to get a high-bouncing green ball at recess because she's on the highest floor and gets downstairs after students from other classes.

16. D.J.---D.J. is happy, but he won't tell why.

17. John---John can't stand on his head, which he needs to do in order to read the blackboard (Don't ask why!).

18. Leslie---Leslie can't figure out what to do with her toes since she thinks they're useless. She tries to sell them to Louis, but then he lowers the offer price.

19. Miss Zarves---There is no Miss Zarves, or 19th story. Sorry.

20. Kathy---Kathy is a pessimist who hates everyone, especially you (and she doesn't even know you!), and she hates everybody all for a specific excuse. Except for Sammy, who had a terrible secret.

21. Ron---Ron wants to play kickball, but nobody wants to play with him because he's really bad at it.

22. The Three Erics---Each one is given an inappropriate, stereotyped, and just plain wrong nickname. Eric Bacon the skinniest child in the class is nicknamed "Fatso", Eric Fry, the best athlete in the class, is nicknamed "Buterfingers", and Eric Ovens, the nicest out of the Erics, is nicknamed "Crabapple".

23. Allison---Allison has two personalities; a kind-hearted and logical one, and an aggressive and superior one.

24. Dameon---Because Mrs. Jewls wants Louis to join the class to watch a movie, Dameon has to repeatedly run up and down the stairs when Louis asks questions about the movie.

25. Jenny---Jenny arrives at school, but she is inexplicably alone... except for three strange and mysterious men.

26. Terrence---Terrence wants to play ball but doesn't know how to play any ball game, so he always kicks the ball over the fence.

27. Joy---Joy forgets her lunch, so she steals Dameon's, eats it, and lies about it.

28. Nancy---Nancy (who is a boy) trades names with his girlfriend Mac (from the 23rd floor, who is a girl), but when the rest of the class hears about this they want to trade names as well.

29. Stephen---Stephen is the only one dressed up for the Halloween party.

30. Louis---Louis tells a story to Mrs. Jewel's class when recess is canceled due to a blizzard (despite it being the middle of June.) about a bunch of normal kids in other schools which the children at Wayside consider weird.

[edit] Trivia

• In Sideways Arithmetic from Wayside School, it is revealed the characters add, subtract, multiply, and divide words. The children at Wayside School have no concept of adding numbers until Mrs. Jewls teaches the kids 4+7=11, in numbers, not words.

• Mrs. Jewls has a behavior system.

If a student does something wrong once, The student will write his/her name under the word DISCIPLINE. If a student does something wrong a second time, The student will put a check next to his/her name. If a student does something wrong a third time, The student will circle his/her name and send him/her home at noon on the kindergarten bus (which is very odd, as most students would enjoy this). Despite only needing three strikes, Mrs. Jewls resorts to also adding a triangle and a rectangle when Sammy was disruptive. Despite being a good student, Todd is sent home every day on the kindergarten bus as a result of him always unfairly getting in trouble. Paul is also sent home on the kindergarten bus, but only once after pulling Leslie's pigtails during class. Another time, when it looks like Joy was going to be sent home early, Todd thinks he is going to have company, but Joy ends up making up for her crime. Mrs. Jewls even sends herself home early for temporarily turning evil.

• Goozack was another word for door in the book Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger. After the principal ran into his office door and spilled coffee over his clothes, he said that the word "door" was a bad word. Anyone who said "door" would get in trouble. So he introduced the word "goozack" to replace the word door. Todd was the first student to break the new rule, only because he was late for school at the time and didn't hear the announcement. Later, when Mrs. Drazil said "door" and the students pointed out that she was to call it "goozack," she immediately said "Mr. Kidswatter is a 'goozack'" in retaliation.

• Way-High-Up-Ball is a fictional game invented by The 3 Erics. To play you need a rubber ball and a tall building. It is played in the 27th chapter (titled Way-High-Up Ball) of Wayside School Gets A Little Stranger. One player throws a ball, and whichever level story it hits is how many points are earned by the thrower. Whoever catches it receives the same amount of points. A glopper is a ball that goes straight up and back down, never touching the wall. For the game's last-ever appearance, Louis threw the ball, and it hit somewhere between the 18th and 20th stories and never came down since there is no 19th story.

• A "mugworm griblick" is what Eric Bacon calls Mr. Kidswatter in Chapters 20, 21, & 22, in Wayside School is Falling Down.

• In all 3 stories in the Wayside School series, Chapter 19 differs storngly from other chapters. In the first story, that chapter is non-existent, in the second story, the 19th chapter takes up 3 chapters and based on a non-existent location (Miss Zarves' classroom), and in the third story, Chapter 19 is also based on the non-existent location.

• In all 3 stories, Chapter 17 has the theme of things being done backwards. The first story is about John reading upside-down, the second story has the entire chapter's sentences written backwards is their order, and the third story has a title which is paradoxical to its plot until the final sentences.

[edit] In other media

In 2005 Nelvana, the Canadian-based animation company, produced an hour-long adaptation of the Wayside books. Its theme song was sung by Skye Sweetnam. A series titled Wayside based on the book and the TV special has premiered on Nickelodeon and Teletoon. Paramount Pictures will be releasing Season 1 onto DVD in Mid-August 2008. In 2009, The Riturmin Company has announced that they will be producing an independent film adaption of the books. As of January, the working title has been called The Chronicles of Wayside School.