Wayside School Beneath the Cloud of Doom
by Louis Sachar
Series: Wayside School (book 4)
Age Range: 7+
Content Notice: Mildly dangerous situations, children misbehaving
Faith Based: No
ISBN: 978-0062965387
Author’s Website: http://www.louissachar.com/
PLOT SYNOPSIS (from the back of the book)
Your favorite students and teachers have been waiting for you! 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 in Mrs. Jewls’s class on the thirtieth story, who are busily collecting toenail clippings. They all need to prepare for the Ultimate Test, despite the Cloud of Doom looming above them.
THE BOTTOM LINE
The Wayside School series maintains its wacky, zany charm even forty years after the first book was written.
THOUGHTS
Wayside School Beneath the Cloud of Doom is ridiculous, wacky, ludicrous, and head scratching, and I would expect nothing less. Forty years after the first book in the series was published, Sachar still understands what makes Wayside School so fun and accessible to young readers. Yes, the characters are a little weak and caricatured. Yes, the plot is disjointed and pacing is questionable. Yes, the school setting is nothing more than a stage for the hijinks of the students in Mrs. Jewls’s class. But all of that is the charm. The comedy sketches are always hilarious and sometimes (though certainly not always) have some important life lessons buried inside them. This book is a fantastically good time and well worth putting on the reading list of young readers.