Louis Sachar’s 1978 book, Sideways Stories from Wayside School, tells thirty stories from the perspectives of thirty characters on a thirtieth-floor classroom. It has become popular enough that for many children it may be one of the first times they are exposed to bizarre and absurdist humor. The book opens with the description of the school itself, which was meant to be one floor with thirty classrooms, but due to a construction mix-up, was built with thirty floors (except for a missing nineteenth), with one classroom on each. Through a mixture of directness, as well as implicitly in its tone and often nonsensical writing style, it encourages children and students to experiment, question norms and authorities, and explore what makes them unique.
The chapters are episodic in nature, with each chapter focusing on a different character. Most are about students, with a few exceptions: the evil Mr. Gorf who turns children into apples for misbehaving, her much kinder replacement Mrs. Jewls, and Louis, who serves as a sort of proxy for the author himself. The classroom serves as a sort of microcosm of absurdity, with chapters addressing real issues that children face, albeit in humorous ways.
The Three Erics, for example, face an identity crisis when they are all given negative, stereotyped nicknames that imply the direct opposite of who they really are. A boy named Nancy and a his girlfriend Mac decide to change names under obvious pressure for their names to match their genders. Terrence constantly messes up at recess in front of his peers, facing verbal punishment from them as well as adults.
A strong theme in the book is futility in the face of authority, specifically the frustration kids feel in the presence of adult authority figures. Todd is the best-behaved student in class, but due to constant mix-ups, he somehow manages to be sent home every day at noon as punishment. In his chapter, despite being harassed by another student and saving the class from a robbery, he still somehow violates Mrs. Jewls’ three-strike system and is sent home. In another chapter, Mrs. Jewls sends Dameon on a pointless quest to ask Lewis if he wants to join the class in watching a movie about turtles. He repeatedly runs up and down the stairs as messenger between Louis and Mrs. Jewls until he misses the entire movie himself. In the end, Louis decides not to watch the movie. He doesn't like turtles because they are slow.
Taking a hopeless, futile situation and making it humorous is a common theme in absurdist film and literature. The fact is that many of the children of Wayside School are frustrated, as children are in real life. Their frustrations include authority, inability to fit in, and social rules they don’t seem to grasp. The value of Sideways Stories is that it acknowledges that often times, children simply can’t change their circumstances. But they can learn to experiment within the limitations they are given and come to appreciate and even love what sets them apart from the norm.
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