Caramel has recently been reading Louis Sachar’s Wayside School series. Today he reviews the fourth and last book in the series, Wayside School Beneath the Cloud of Doom, published only in 2020.
Caramel reviews Wayside School Beneath the Cloud of Doom by Louis Sachar.
Sprinkles: Okay Caramel. I think we finally came to the end of these Wayside School books.
Caramel: Yes. Unfortunately.
S: This one was written so many years after the previous one. There are almost twenty-five years in between. Did you notice anything?
C: No! This book picks up where the other one ended. At least the students and the teachers are all the same.
S: That is interesting. So then there could not have been twenty years in between the two books, in the story world.
C: Exactly.
S: Apparently the author wrote this new book because he was worried about a lot of things going on in the world. Is the book itself about sad or scary things?
C: Not really. It is just as funny and wacky as the other books.
S: But there is this cloud of doom? Tell me a bit about that.
C: The cloud of doom is a weird cloud that makes everyone feel anxious and unhappy.
S: Hmm. The cloud seems to appear some time in Chapter 8. Then it hangs around till the end of the book, right?
C: Right. But still a lot of funny and strange things happen.
Caramel is reading Wayside School Beneath the Cloud of Doom by Louis Sachar.
S: So the book is organized into thirty chapters as the previous ones, right?
C: Yep. Yes.
S: Can you pick one, maybe your favorite, and tell me a bit about that?
C: I can tell you about Chapter 10. It is called “Stuck”. One of the kids gets her face stuck in a weird shape, and the whole chapter, all the people in the school try to help her get her face unstuck.
S: That is a weird one Caramel! The author comes up with so many weird ideas!
C: Yes. He also has a funny idea about how paper clips are made. Apparently it takes four people to make one paper clip.
S: Really?
C: No. But apparently that is what Ms. Jewls tells her students so they won’t lose the paper clips she gives them.
S: And this is the good teacher, right?
C: Well she is relatively kinder to them than the very first teacher from the first book. The kids like her a lot. And she likes them too.
S: Well, those are good qualities in a teacher.
C: Yep.
S: So if you were to describe this book using three words, how would you do it?
C: Funny, wacky, downright outrageous.
S: Hmm, I am assuming you mean that in a positive way?
C: Of course!
S: Okay, so do you think there will be a fifth Wayside School book?
C: I hope so.
S: I guess we can hope that the author will write another one some day. But in the meantime did you know that there are a couple puzzle books he wrote about the Wayside School?
C: Oh, I like puzzles!
S: I did see one of them before. They are cool puzzles. Maybe we will take a look one day.
C: That would be fun!
S: Okay Caramel. It is probably time to wrap up this review. What do you want to tell our readers?
C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!
Caramel enjoyed reading Wayside School Beneath the Cloud of Doom by Louis Sachar and hopes that there will eventually be more adventures about this wacky school in the near future.
Readers probably already know that Marshmallow enjoys reading graphic novels which are fictional, but she has occasionally also read memoirs or biographies written in graphic novel format and reviewed them for the book bunnies blog. (See, for example, her reviews of They Called Us Enemy by George Takei and The English GI by Jonathan Sandler and Brian Bicknell.) Today she writes about a 2022 book in this genre: Victory. Stand! Raising My Fist for Justice, by Tommie Smith, co-written by Derrick Barnes and illustrated by Dawud Anyabwile.
Marshmallow reviews Victory. Stand! Raising My Fist for Justice, by Tommie Smith, written together with Derrick Barnes and illustrated by Dawud Anyabwile.
Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like autobiographies or books about recent history, or if you want to read specifically about one of the consequential events in the history of the Civil Rights and Black Power movements in the United States, then this might be the book for you.
Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): Tommie Smith is an American athlete, who is the first person to run 200 meters in under 20 seconds. In this book, Smith shares his experiences and retells the events leading up to and after his famous 1968 Olympics Black Power salute.
The narrative starts by showing the beginning of Smith’s Olympic finals race. Then we are shown his earlier life. As a young child, Tommie and his family were sharecroppers, meaning that they worked on land owned by someone else. Tommie did chores and picked cotton with his family. Even at a young age, Tommie could see injustice. He watched his parents and siblings work so hard everyday, toiling in the sun, while the white family who owned the land had a better, bigger house and did not have to work as much. However, things soon got even worse, and mechanized equipment and the drop in cotton prices took jobs away from sharecroppers. As a result, Tommie and his family moved to a labor camp in Stratford, California. There Tommie began to attend school regularly and “had to make sense of something that made no sense at all”. The white children in his class had several privileges, and the teachers saw them raise their hands, but they never seemed to see Tommie’s.
Everything changed, however, after a momentous race with his sister. Tommie realized that he could achieve anything, and he joined his school’s track team. This led him to becoming a star, winning almost every single competition he entered. By the time he graduated high school, he had accolades in multiple sports and several scholarship offers.
Tommie became a star athlete, and eventually, he made it to the Olympics. But he never lost his sense of justice and equality. He raised his fist at the 1968 Games to protest the racism and the many injustices in the United States at the time. Afterwards, there was a lot of push-back, and Smith faced a lot of difficulties as a result, but also a lot of people felt seen and heard. The book ends in the present, mentioning a few other athletes who have made similar protests after Smith in the intervening years.
Marshmallow is reading Victory. Stand! Raising My Fist for Justice, by Tommie Smith, written together with Derrick Barnes and illustrated by Dawud Anyabwile.
Marshmallow’s Review: I really enjoyed reading Victory. Stand! Raising My Fist for Justice. It is very informative, and I learned a lot that I did not know before. I think it is very important to know and remember such acts of bravery and the people who committed them.
The drawings are really good. I think that they show movement, especially running, very well. I have reviewed historical graphic novels before, and I appreciated them too, but the drawing style in this one was unique and enjoyable. I also enjoyed the writing style of the author. The writing paired with the drawings made this a really good book overall.
Victory. Stand! Raising My Fist for Justice mentions horrible things that some people have done and has one image that is disturbing. Additionally, it does have some derogatory words. But the message of the book is vital. I think this is a book that every young bunny should read at least once. The story of Tommie Smith’s courageous life and his raised fist is a touching story that gives us hope for the future.
Marshmallow’s Rating: 100%.
Marshmallow rates Victory. Stand! Raising My Fist for Justice, by Tommie Smith, written together with Derrick Barnes and illustrated by Dawud Anyabwile, 100%.
Caramel has already reviewed Sideways Stories from Wayside School and Wayside School Is Falling Down, both by Louis Sachar. Today he reviews the third book in the series, Wayside School Gets A Little Stranger, first published in 1996. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking followup questions.
Caramel reviews Wayside School Gets A Little Stranger by Louis Sachar.
Caramel: Well, the school was overrun by cows and so everyone had to leave the building.
S: Yes, I remember. So does this book pick up where the last one left us?
C: Yes, the first chapter is about how Louis cleaned up the mess and made it safe for students and teachers to come back. And then all kinds of weird stuff happen again.
S: Tell us about some of them.
C: Miss Zarves from the nineteenth story finds out that there is still a cow in her classroom.
S: Wait, I am still not sure I understand this nineteenth story because it does not exist and yet it does?
C: You think I understand it? I don’t either. but in the second book there was a girl named Alison who found her way to Miss Zarves’ classroom and in this book, too, there is a chapter for the same classroom.
S: An d I bet it is the nineteenth chapter, right?
C: Yes, of course!
S: Of course. So what else happens?
C: So Mrs. Jewls is pregnant, and so she goes on maternity leave, and so the kids on the thirtieth floor have substitute teachers. And all of them are evil and horrible.
S: Tell me more.
C: the first one is Mrs. Gorf’s son.
S: I remember Mrs. Gorf. That is the one who turned children into apples, right?
C: Right. So Mr. Gorf steals children’s voices. And he is pretty terrible.
S: Sounds scary.
C: I guess it makes the class quiet.
S: Well, I guess.
C: Anyways, then there is Miss Drazil and she is not too bad but Louis dislikes her, because she was his teacher, and she hated him, and she makes him miserable. But in the end it seems like she is actually not that bad and Louis was the one who made her miserable.
S: I see.
C: Then there is a third teacher, Miss Nogard. And she can hear people’s thoughts and she uses them against the children, making them all doubt themselves and be unhappy.
S: She sounds horrible.
C: She is. Until the end. At the end she listens to a baby’s thoughts, and apparently a baby’s thoughts are all full of love, so Miss Nogard also fills up with love.
S: I guess that is good.
C: Yes. And in the end Mrs. Jewls comes back, too. The baby is hers.
S: I see.
Caramel is reading Wayside School Gets A Little Stranger by Louis Sachar.
S: So did you notice that the three substitute teachers’ names were animal names spelled backwards? Gorf is frog, Drazil is lizard, and Nogard is Dragon.
C: Yes.I did not think of Gorf in the earlier books. But I began to suspect something when I read about Drazil, it sounded like Brazil but not quite. And then Nogard is DRAGON backwards. And I know that of course.
S: Of course. So tell me. Did you enjoy this book too? I did see that once you began reading it, you could not drop it until you finished.
C: It is a quick and very fun read.
S: That is great Caramel. Did you know there is a fourth book, published only a couple years ago?
C: Yep. And I want to read that next.
S: I am sure that can be arranged.
C: Great! Make it so. Please.
S: I can see you channeling your inner Jean-Luc Picard there. Okay, we will see. Let us wrap up this review then. What would you like to tell our readers?
C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!
Caramel laughed his way through Wayside School Gets A Little Stranger, the third Wayside School book by Louis Sachar, and is looking forward to other new reads.
In the past weeks and months, Marshmallow has reviewed several books by Pam Muñoz Ryan. This week she went back and reread the very first book she had read by her, Echo. This book was published in 2015 and won Muñoz Ryan a Newberry Honor in 2016. Marshmallow originally read it for school a couple years ago, and she very much enjoyed revisiting it this week. Below she shares her thoughts on this 600-page page-turner.
Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like books based on historical events or if you have enjoyed reading some of Pam Muñoz Ryan’s other books, then this might be the book for you.
Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): “Fifty years before the war to end all wars”, a little boy named Otto goes into the forest to hide while playing hide-and-seek and gets lost. Having recently bought a book and a harmonica from a Gypsy, he gets so intrigued by the story in the book that he does not realize how long he had stayed hidden.
The tale is about three sisters who were raised by a witch. The three sisters were in fact the daughters of a king who desperately wanted a son. Upon their birth, the king ordered the midwife to leave them in a forest. The midwife took pity on the babies and brought them to a witch, who named them Eins, Zwei, and Drei in the order they were brought to her. These girls grew up unaware of their royal origins. Years later, when the king died, his son (the sisters’ brother) learned of them. He and his mother were overwhelmed with happiness and sent the midwife to bring them to the kingdom. The midwife came and told the sisters the good news. However, the witch did not want to lose the girls, who had become useful servants to do all the work. She cursed them, saying that they could never leave the forest unless they saved someone’s life.
After tripping and hitting his head, the little boy, Otto, wakes up and discovers the sisters in the forest. The sisters, Eins, Zwei, and Drei, help Otto find his way home but ask for a favor. They each take a turn playing the harmonica, and it appears that they store their spirits in the harmonica. He promises to pass on the harmonica when the time is right.
Seventy years later, Friedrich Schmidt discovers the harmonica in Nazi Germany. Born with an unusual birthmark and a father who dislikes the new regime, Friedrich is not safe. When his father is taken to Dachau, Friedrich’s life turns upside down.
Years later, in Philadelphia, Mike Flannery is living in The Bishop’s Home for Friendless and Destitute Children. His brother, Frankie, is a fountain of enthusiasm. Mike and Frankie must stick together. When a rich woman named Mrs. Sturbridge adopts them both, it seems like all their dreams have come true. Mike soon gets his hands on a harmonica that has an unusually magical sound (and yes, of course, this is the same one Otto and Friedrich had). However, Mike eventually discovers that Mrs. Sturbridge is planning to “unadopt” them and he must figure out a way for him and Frankie to stay together.
Much later, Ivy Maria Lopez in California is excited to play a harmonica solo on the radio. The United States just joined World War II, and Ivy’s brother is off fighting in the army. Ivy soon learns that her family is moving again and she won’t be able to perform her solo. Upon moving, she faces segregation. The Hispanic children are put in a different school from everyone else. Prejudice and hate seem to be everywhere during the war. Can Ivy adjust to her new home?
Marshmallow is reading Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan.
Marshmallow’s Review:Echo is perhaps my favorite book by Pam Muñoz Ryan, and I really enjoyed (re)reading it. I especially love the end, and I really love how the separate stories are all tied up in the end. All storylines are set in different time periods, with different characters, and different plots, but they are all connected by the harmonica and wrapped together in the end. Some themes that are started in the beginning are repeated in the end, which makes it feel even more like a conclusion. It is impressive that the author could distinguish all the stories and make each a separate line but put them together in a fashion that was not clunky or confusing.
The characters are all unique, and you come to really care about them by the end of the story. They each have strong connections to music which brings them joy and empowers them to face challenges. The tragedies they face and the events that occur are all based on real history. (For example, while writing the book, Pam Muñoz Ryan researched Roberto Alvarez v. the Board of Trustees of the Lemon Grove School District (1931), a desegregation case from California with connections to Ivy’s story. The internment of Japanese Americans during World War II also plays a significant role.)
I think another strong point of this book is the fact that it tackles several challenging issues in one place successfully. The author weaves a tale spanning from Nazi Germany to a negligent, abusive orphanage to a war-torn California. The hate, neglect, mistreatment, prejudice, and unfairness the characters face and eventually overcome all make this an even more touching story.
The only flaw with Echo one may find is the contradictory tones of the different parts of the book. The prologue is a major part of the overall plot but has a more fantasy-like, magical atmosphere. Then the vibe of the book changes significantly. The realistic, down-to-earth, historical fiction aspect of the rest of the story does not really follow naturally from the fantastic, magical, surrealist tones at the beginning.
However, I still loved Echo. I would recommend it to all readers. The writing is not particularly difficult to read but the topics and plot make it intriguing to older readers as well.
In short, Echo is a touching, majestic piece of literature that should hold a place on everyone’s bookshelf and everyone’s heart.
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