Author | Louis Sachar |
---|---|
Illustrator | Joel Schick (first edition) Adam McCauley (second edition) |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Series | Wayside School |
Subject | Fiction |
Genre | Children's literature |
Publisher | Lothrop, Lee & Shepard (HarperCollins imprint) |
Publication date | March 22, 1989 |
Media type | Print (in Hardcover and Paperback) |
Pages | 179 pp (1st edition hardcover) |
ISBN | 0-688-07868-0 (hardcover) |
OCLC | 17620889 |
LC Class | PZ7.S1185 Way 1989 |
Preceded by | Sideways Stories From Wayside School (1978) |
Followed by | Wayside School Gets A Little Stranger (1995) |
Wayside School is Falling Down is a 1989 children's, dark comedy, short story cycle, novel by American author Louis Sachar, and the second book in his Wayside School series. Like its predecessor, it contains 30 stories, although some stories are interconnected in more complex ways than they were in the series' first book. Through-lines in the book include the introduction of a new student, Benjamin Nushmutt, and Allison's trip to the nonexistent Miss Zarves' classroom on the 19th story. The book's title comes from the favorite song of one character, Kathy, to the tune of "London Bridge Is Falling Down."
Kirkus Reviews referred to the stories in Wayside School Is Falling Down as "rib-tickling tales",[1] while Publishers Weekly called them "tongue-in-cheek, slightly madcap stories", noting that they're "sure to appeal to the slightly caustic humor that is typical of middle readers".[2] Similarly, School Library Journal's Anne Connor noted that the book, with its "bad puns, extended jokes, and an irreverent attitude", may leave adult readers feeling "quizzical", but "children who relish the ridiculous will enjoy themselves tremendously."[3] Booklist's Carolyn Phelan also found "Sachar's humor [to be] right on target for middle-grade readers".[4]
Kirkus Reviews also discussed the "simple, evocative line drawing[s]" that preface "each short episode", noting, "Sachar has a gift for having fun without poking it too sharply, and beneath all the frivolity there very often lurks some idea or observation worth pondering."[1]
Phelan also discussed the book's inclusion of fantasy elements, as well as Sachar's "playfulness with literary conventions".[4]
While Phelan indicated that the stories felt connected,[4] Connor found them s to be "only loosely tied together" and that "many have a shaggy dog quality".[3]