For most kids, school is a place of order, rules, and predictability. In WAYSIDE SCHOOL GETS A LITTLE STRANGER, Louis Sachar brings us another joyous, totally unpredictable year at Wayside School, where there are 30 floors, with only one classroom on each floor, and where the rules insist that students go upstairs on the right side, and downstairs on the left! When Mrs. Jewls, the fifth-grade teacher, leaves to have her baby, the kids go through a series of substitutes, each one a little stranger than the one before. As his own narrator, Sachar starts off with a slow, almost monotone quality, as if to undercut the absurdity of the plot. Slowly, he loosens up and lets his characters come to life, and we begin to recognize the various kids--Louis, the custodian; the principal; even the different substitutes--as he gives them their own individual voices, changing tone, speech patterns, even the timbre of his voice. His irreverent wit constantly catches us off-guard. Kids will love his outlandish stories while adults will appreciate the satire.
Ages 8+Pub Date: Jan. 22, 1999
Duration: 3 hrs
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Lemony Snicket, who became known for challenging listeners’ vocabularies in his Series of Unfortunate Events, chooses 13 seemingly random words and arranges them into the story of a “despondent” bird and a dog who tries to cheer his friend by visiting a “haberdashery” to buy a hat with “panache.” Michael Emerson’s intonations and phrasing allow listeners to picture characters and settings even without Maira Kalman's illustrations. He encourages listeners to savor the sounds of words as the author intended. Who wouldn’t buy a hat from a breathy sales-baby who describes “panache” as “a kind of verve or swagger”? In an amazing artistic interpretation, Snicket’s final word, “mezzo-soprano,” becomes an opera of the book, created by real-life composer Nico Muhly.
Ages 8+Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2010
Duration: 6 mins
DD ISBN: 9781443404433
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Author and narrator Enrique Flores-Galbis is a master of duality in this nuanced story of the Cuban revolution. His writing and narration are superb. In both, his humble style of storytelling is arresting. When revolution comes to Cuba, Julian is just a boy. He doesn’t even know what a revolution is. In leaving Cuba and losing his family, Julian finds new ways in which he’s both vulnerable and strong. Flores-Galbis’s voice embodies the contradictions of Julian’s experience. We hear that vulnerability in a soft, almost hesitant, voice; underneath is a quiet confidence. The pacing ebbs and flows as naturally as the tide between Havana and Miami as Julian figures out what is right and determines to do his part to help.
Ages 10+Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2013
Duration: 6 hrs, 15 mins
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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