Publication Date: September 1, 1994 | Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up | Series: Wayside School
From the Newbery award-winning author of Holes
Everything in Mrs. Jewls's class has gone topsy-turvy...again. The report cards are scrambled, the pop quiz won't pop, and watermelons are falling out the windows. On top of all that, the boys are upset because Allison has announced that only two of them will be invited to her birthday party, since if more than two boys come, they'll all start acting silly. You never know how things will add up at Wayside School.
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"A delightful collection of ingenious tales, all of which are touched with impossibility and hilarity...Full of wonderful characters and sentiment, the book has great messages for all in each chapter. The Bookseller
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About the Author
Louis Sachar is the author of the international bestseller and award-winning Holes, now a feature film. All of Louis's books for children have been published in the UK by Bloomsbury. These also include Small Steps, Stanley Yelnats' Survival Guide to Camp Greenlake, Dogs Don't Tell Jokes, There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom, The Boy Who Lost His Face, Pig City, Someday Angeline, and the Marvin Redpost series and the Wayside School books. Louis Sachar lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife, daughter and two dogs
--This text refers to the
Paperback
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author spotlight Newbery Award-winning author Louis Sachar is the creator of the entertaining Marvin Redpost books as well as the much-loved There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom, winner of 17 child-voted state awards.
Louis Sachar's book Holes, winner of the 1999 Newbery Medal, the National Book Award, and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, is also an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, an ALA Quick Pick, an ALA Notable Book, and was made into a major motion picture.
A Few Words From Louis Sachar Of all the characters from Holes, why did you choose to revisit Armpit in SMALL STEPS? LS: I tend to write about underdogs. It seemed to me that life would be tough for an African-American teenager from a low-income family with a criminal record. Especially someone stuck with the name, "Armpit." Although this new book is about a character from Holes, the two books are very different. How would you explain to a fan of Holes what to expect from SMALL STEPS? LS: I can't. I'm no good at describing my books. Holes has been out now for seven years, and I still can't come up with a good answer when asked what that book is about. Could you imagine future novels about any of the other boys? Do you think about what Stanley is up to now? LS: I don't think too much about Stanley or Zero. I left them in a good place. Although money doesn't bring happiness, or give meaning to someone's life, the problems Stanley and Zero face now (and I'm sure they do face many problems) are less interesting than those faced by someone like Armpit. Plenty of teenagers fantasize about what it would be like to be a young rock star. You portray it as lonely. Tell us about that decision. LS: The media tends to portray the teenage world as one where drinking and sex is taken for granted. In fact, I think most teenagers don't drink, are unsure of themselves, and feel awkward around members of the opposite sex. I thought it was important to show Kaira, a rock star no less, as such a person. Her situation, in many ways, is made more difficult as she has no social contact with anyone her age. She is trapped in a world of agents, record producers, and hanger-ons. I'm imagining that off all the books you've written, Holes is the one that has changed your life the most. Not only did it win the Newbery Medal, it's also simply a popular sensation. Is this assessment accurate? What is this novel's continuing impact on your life? Would you consider it the book that you are proudest of? LS: Not counting Small Steps, I think Holes is my best book, in terms of plot, and setting, and the way the story revealed itself. It hasn't changed my life, other than that I have more money than I did before I wrote it. I'm still too close to Small Steps to compare it to Holes. Why do you typically write only two hours each day? LS: Small steps. Every time I start a new novel it seems like an impossible undertaking. If I tried to do too much too quickly, I would get lost and feel overwhelmed. I have to go slow, and give things a chance to take form and grow.
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 starsExcellent for development of logic skills, September 27, 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: More Sideways Arithmetic From Wayside School (Mass Market Paperback)
We use this book as an adjunct to our grades4-5 math curriculum. Specifically, we use it as a challenge for our brighter students. The students love the puzzles in this book and it enhances their love for math.
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This review is from: More Sideways Arithmetic From Wayside School (Mass Market Paperback)
Unlike the original <u>Sideways Arithmetic from Wayside School</u>, which was an excellent set of logic problems, some difficult enough to challenge a math teacher - I wish I'd had it while I was preparing for my GREs - this book was a bit of a disappointment. The problems were, first of all, much easier than those in the first book, and they stayed at mainly the same level. So, once you'd learned the basics of a certain type of problem, the next few of that type remained just as easy, instead of challenging the reader. Stick to the fist one -- it's strong and a LOT more fun. Methinks Sachar slacked off a bit in writing the "sequel".
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This review is from: More Sideways Arithmetic From Wayside School (Mass Market Paperback)
I love incorporating words with math! It makes it fun and interesting. I am not big on math (nor am I very good at it), but when you incorporate language, it makes it fun. I really found this enjoyable! You do neet time, paper, and a darn good eraser, but this was a blast! It has the same kind of stories as the other Wayside books, but it incorporates math problems to go with it. (BOYS + GIRLS = SILLY) And it's your job to figure out number substitutes for the letters. It's a lot of fun to do, and improves math skills and language skills. It's a blast! It's harder than the first one, be warned! But it's also more fun and entertaining. I always used it as like a rainy day project, and I plan to do the same with my daughter.
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