Sideways Stories from Wayside School

Aimed at readers aged seven through nine, the Wayside books developed from author Louis Sachar’s personal experience as a second- and third-grade classroom assistant. Sachar, then a student at UC Berkeley, came across the assistantship, which offered college credit:

I thought it over and decided it was a pretty good deal. College credits, no homework, no term papers, no tests, all I had to do was help out in a second/third-grade class at Hillside Elementary School in Berkeley, California. Besides helping out in a classroom, I also became the Noontime Supervisor, or ‘Louis the Yard Teacher’ as I was known to the kids. It became my favorite college class, and a life-changing experience (Cosmo, Ella. “Discover the Weird and Wondrous World of Holes Author Louis Sachar!” B&N Reads, Barnesandnoble.com, June 2018).

Sachar went on to graduate with a degree in Economics in 1976 and began writing the Wayside School stories. He named the students in the book after actual students at Hillside Elementary School and includes a character named Louis—the playground teacher modeled after himself. The book was released in 1978 but did not sell well. Sachar went on to earn a Law degree. It wasn’t until 1989 that his books became commercially successful, and he was able to write full-time.

Although he models a character after himself (as well as using the names of actual students), Sachar is able to maintain a definitive world of fiction through the use of outrageous, often nonsensical situations. Present-day elementary students are sure to find familiarity in the classroom setting, while recognizing that the outlandish circumstances of Wayside School are intended to be humorous. That the original book in the series remains in print and continues to be popular nearly 45 years later arguably speaks to its timelessness and the universality of the themes and tropes it addresses.

Subsequent books in the series feature many of the same students as the initial book and draw on some of the same premises. However, Sachar includes new characters, and the books use a more explicit overarching plot to connect the chapters, rather than utilizing individual, self-encapsulated stories.

Among his other books, Holes is one of Sachar’s best known. Published in 1998, Holes is geared toward older students (typically upper elementary or middle schoolers) but, like the Wayside School books, utilizes magical realism. It tells the story of Stanley Yelnats, who is sent to a bootcamp in the desert after being falsely accused of theft. Friendship, much like in the Wayside series, is a vital theme as is the use of satire.

In interviews, Sachar stresses that his books are intended to be enjoyed by both children and adults and that he sees no difference in writing for one over the other:

The literary world often places children’s literature below adult literature. But looking back through the ages, the really classic children’s books have all had beautifully developed plot, structure, and characterization.

I’ve always believed that I learned to write for children by reading books written for adults. For instance, Kurt Vonnegut’s Hocus Pocus and William Goldman’s The Princess Bride influenced the way I wrote Holes (Sachar, Louis. “Frequently Asked Questions.” Louissachar.com, 2023).

Sachar cites E. L. Doctorow, J. D. Salinger, Kurt Vonnegut, Kazuo Ishiguro, Flannery O’Connor, Rex Stout, Katherine Paterson, and E. B. White as his favorite authors (Macmillan Publishers. “Louis Sachar.” Macmillan’s Author’s Page, 2023).