Every time it's a muggy, rainy day I think of one thing: Sideway Stories From Wayside School. If you never this book (and the two subsequent books) by Louis Sachar, you probably had a more normal childhood than I did, but you also didn't know the story of this really weird (yet hilariously, awesome) school.*
The one piece of the book that makes me think of, what I like to call, sweaty days is the chapter about the student that smelled like a wet rat. Sounds weird, I know, but let me explain.
It's a rainy, muggy day at Wayside School and a very smelly student comes in dressed in layers and layers of rain jackets and trench coats. The teachers and students realize the smell is coming from this kid and think it's the jackets he's wearing, so they start removing them. This goes on until they remove the last jacket and it turns out the kid is a dead rat. (Yes, that's how weird these books are.)
So, now, when I am on a hot metro car or crowded bus, in line at CVS or walk into my apartment on a muggy, rainy day, that book is all I think about. Like I said, it was a weird book.
Do rainy days make you think of anything?
*Description from Amazon: The Wayside School was supposed to be one story high, with 30 classrooms side by side; instead, it was built sideways, with 30 one-classroom stories. As befits such a strange school, these tales are a bit strange too. In one, Jason is stuck to his seat by a large wad of chewing gum. His teacher tries throwing ice water on him (to chill the gum to brittleness) and turning him upside down. She even contemplates cutting his pants off. Finally, though, he falls from his upside-down position when kissed (ugh!) by one of the girls in the class. Other tales include a bit of a moral, such as the story of Kathy, whose assumption that no one will ever like her is proved right, or the story of Bebe, who draws quickly but without artistic merit. The quirky humor in this book is appealing to children, and it makes a good read-aloud book for the younger set.
The one piece of the book that makes me think of, what I like to call, sweaty days is the chapter about the student that smelled like a wet rat. Sounds weird, I know, but let me explain.
It's a rainy, muggy day at Wayside School and a very smelly student comes in dressed in layers and layers of rain jackets and trench coats. The teachers and students realize the smell is coming from this kid and think it's the jackets he's wearing, so they start removing them. This goes on until they remove the last jacket and it turns out the kid is a dead rat. (Yes, that's how weird these books are.)
So, now, when I am on a hot metro car or crowded bus, in line at CVS or walk into my apartment on a muggy, rainy day, that book is all I think about. Like I said, it was a weird book.
Do rainy days make you think of anything?
*Description from Amazon: The Wayside School was supposed to be one story high, with 30 classrooms side by side; instead, it was built sideways, with 30 one-classroom stories. As befits such a strange school, these tales are a bit strange too. In one, Jason is stuck to his seat by a large wad of chewing gum. His teacher tries throwing ice water on him (to chill the gum to brittleness) and turning him upside down. She even contemplates cutting his pants off. Finally, though, he falls from his upside-down position when kissed (ugh!) by one of the girls in the class. Other tales include a bit of a moral, such as the story of Kathy, whose assumption that no one will ever like her is proved right, or the story of Bebe, who draws quickly but without artistic merit. The quirky humor in this book is appealing to children, and it makes a good read-aloud book for the younger set.
