New to the series
Start with Sideways Stories from Wayside School for fiction, or try the arithmetic section only if your child specifically enjoys riddles and unusual math.
Book Series · 4 Books
Wayside School Books
In order from Sideways Stories from Wayside School to Wayside School Beneath the Cloud of Doom.
Four collections of surreal classroom stories set in a thirty-story school accidentally built sideways.
Reviewed by the Bookroo Editors Updated
Reading order
How to Read the Wayside School Books
Read the four story collections in order, though their short, episodic chapters are forgiving for casual reading. The two Sideways Arithmetic books are optional wordplay and math puzzles, not books five and six.
Sources: Official series guidance.
For parents
What Parents Should Know
The humor includes unfair adults, children transforming or disappearing, impossible accidents, and comic peril. Potentially unsettling ideas are treated as absurd jokes rather than realistic danger.
Where to start
Where Should My Child Start?
Where the story begins
First Book in the Series
Sale price
$958
Book #1 · Chapter Book · Ages 7–11 · 1978
Sideways Stories from Wayside School
A group of students navigate the challenges of school life with their eccentric teachers and classmates.
124 pages· 20,493 words· Est. 3 hour read
5.4/7 Bookroo
$9.99Save 4%
Paperback
Summary: At Wayside School, built sideways by mistake, nothing is ordinary. On the thirtieth floor, meet Bebe, the art whiz; John, who reads upside down; and Sammy, the peculiar new student. Each day brings unexpected adventures and laughter. What strange events will unfold next in this topsy-turvy school?
In reading order
Wayside School Series
4 books · Published 1978–2020
#1
Sale price
$958
Sideways Stories from Wayside School
Chapter Book · Ages 7–11 · 1978
A group of students navigate the challenges of school life with their eccentric teachers and classmates.
#2
Sale price
$958
Wayside School Is Falling Down
Chapter Book · Ages 7–11 · 1989
A group of students navigate the ups and downs of school life in a 30-story school building.
#3
Sale price
$958
Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger
Chapter Book · Ages 8–12 · 1995
A group of students navigate the challenges of a quirky school and its eccentric teachers.
#4
Sale price
$958
Wayside School Beneath the Cloud of Doom
Chapter Book · Ages 8–11 · 2020
A group of students navigate the challenges of school life under the ominous presence of a mysterious cloud known as the Cloud of Doom
Companion series
Sideways Arithmetic Series
2 books · Published 1989–1994
Sale price
$574
Sideways Arithmetic from Wayside School
Chapter Book · Ages 9–12 · 1989
At Wayside School, arithmetic means adding words. Can Sue navigate this bizarre world?
Sale price
$674
More Sideways Arithmetic from Wayside School
Chapter Book · Ages 9–12 · 1994
Chaos reigns at Wayside School with scrambled report cards and falling watermelons.
Good to know
Common Questions
How many books are in the Wayside School series?
There are 4 books in the Wayside School series. It began with Sideways Stories from Wayside School in 1978, and the newest book, Wayside School Beneath the Cloud of Doom, was published in 2020.
What order should you read the Wayside School books in?
Start with Sideways Stories from Wayside School and follow the series order — the books above are numbered #1 through #4.
What ages are the Wayside School books best for?
The series is best for ages 7–12, based on the age ranges of the individual books.
Which Wayside School book is the longest?
Wayside School Is Falling Down (Book #2) is the longest book in the series at 28,334 words (192 pages).
Which Wayside School book is the shortest?
Sideways Stories from Wayside School (Book #1) is the shortest at 20,493 words (124 pages).
The people
The Creatives Behind the Books
The people who bring Wayside School to life.
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