Wayside School Is Falling Down-Louis Sachar

This is a must have book and series of books to have in a third grade classroom. The cover illustration was creativity designed to look as if the building is falling down. It is a theme that the school building is tilted sideways, and is going to fall. The inside flap of the cover has a synopsis that sets the tone of the book. The first sentence on the flap reads, “Miss Zarves teaches on the nineteenth floor. There is no nineteenth floor. There is no Miss Zarves, and you will meet her in this book.” Right away one can tell that this book is going to confuse its audience and has a sarcastic humor. The author uses humor to engage his readers into wanting to read onto the next chapter. I like how the book is formatted into short chapters. Each chapter on average is only 5 pages long which is the perfect length for younger readers who read chapter books. My second grade reading buddy has a short attention span when reading. I find this book to have chapters that are the perfect length for students to read. Because the chapters are short, students can read the book more frequently. As a teacher I expect there to be time throughout the day when students can take out a book and read to themselves for ten minutes. A book like Wayside School is Falling Down is of perfect length for students to finish a chapter during this period of time. The chapters are unique to each other and are separated by subject, making it easy to follow along. Each chapter has one picture that illustrates the character who is highlighted in the specific chapter. I found the imagery to be helpful and students would find the pictures entertaining. Because the book focuses on a school, I believe students would find this book enjoyable and could relate to some of the stories.