My Weird School Explained

My Weird School
Author:Dan Gutman
Language:English
Genre:Humor, children's literature
Illustrator:Jim Paillot

My Weird School is a series of humorous chapter books written by Dan Gutman and illustrated by Jim Paillot, first published in July 2004.[1] Further series include My Weird School Daze (2008-2011), My Weirder School (2011-2014), My Weirdest School (2015-2018), My Weirder-est School (2019-2022), and My Weird-tastic School (2023-2024).

The series takes place in a school whose teachers display bizarre behaviors, with each title focusing on a specific teacher. Each book in the series has a rhyme in the title. The main character, A.J., is a boy who hates school.[2] His rival is a girl named Andrea, who loves school and has a friend, Emily, that A.J. considers a "crybaby."[3] Much of the humor is derived from the plot's unlikely situations[4] and the teachers' personalities which are written to be "outlandish."[5]

Gutman was initially inspired to write the books after being exposed to the Junie B. Jones series by Barbara Park and wanted to write something similar from a boy's point of view. Gutman says that he has been inspired by visiting real-life schools, going to 60 schools a year to gather material.[6] He has also stated that his goal in writing the books is to interest children in reading and especially to make reading fun for children who have difficulty in school.[7] The series' defining characteristic of strange teachers comes from Gutman's belief that children enjoy reading about "grownups doing dumb things."[8] Gutman feels that along with having his own son, the series My Weird School helped launch his writing career.[9]

Books

My Weird School (2001-2008)

  1. Book: Miss Daisy Is Crazy!. Harper Trophy. 2001. 9780060507008. New York.
  2. Book: Mr. Klutz Is Nuts!. Harper Trophy. 2004. 9780060507022. New York.
  3. Book: Mrs. Roopy Is Loopy!. Harper Trophy. 2005. 9780060745226. New York.
  4. Book: Ms. Hannah is Bananas!. Harper Collins. 2005. 9780060507060. New York.
  5. Book: Miss Small Is Off the Wall!. Harper Collins. 2005. 9780060745196. New York.
  6. Book: Mr. Hynde Is Out of His Mind!. Harper Collins. 2005. 9780060745202. New York.
  7. Book: Mrs. Cooney Is Loony!. Harper Trophy. 2005. 9780060745226. New York.
  8. Book: Ms. LaGrange Is Strange!. Harper Trophy. 2005. 9780060822231. New York.
  9. Book: Miss Lazar Is Bizarre!. Harper Collins. 2005. 9780060822255. New York.
  10. Book: Mr. Docker Is Off His Rocker!. Harper Trophy. 2006. 9780060822279. New York.
  11. Book: Mrs. Kormel Is Not Normal!. Harper Collins. 2006. 9780060822309. New York.
  12. Book: Ms.Todd Is Odd!. Harper Collins. 2006. 9780060822323. New York.
  13. Book: Mrs. Patty Is Batty!. Harper Trophy. 2006. 9780060853808. New York.
  14. Book: Miss Holly Is Too Jolly!. Harper Trophy. 2006. 9780060853822. New York.
  15. Book: Mr. Macky Is Wacky!. Harper Trophy. 2007. 9780061141515. New York.
  16. Book: Ms. Coco Is Loco!. Harper Trophy. 2007. 9780061141539. New York.
  17. Book: Miss Suki Is Kooky!. Harper Trophy. 2007. 9780061234736. New York.
  18. Book: Mrs. Yonkers Is Bonkers!. Harper Trophy. 2007. 9780061234750. New York.
  19. Book: Dr. Carbles Is Losing His Marbles!. Harper Trophy. 2007. 9780061234774. New York.
  20. Book: Mr. Louie Is Screwy!. Harper Collins. 2007. 9780061234798. New York.
  21. Book: Ms. Krup Cracks Me Up!. Harper Trophy. 2008. 9780061346064. New York.

My Weird School Daze (2008-2011)

  1. Book: Mrs. Dole Is Out Of Control!. Harper Trophy. 2008. 9780061346071. New York.
  2. Book: Mr. Sunny Is Funny!. Harper Trophy. 2008. 9780061346095. New York.
  3. Book: Mr. Granite Is From Another Planet!. Harper Trophy. 2008. 9780061346125. New York.
  4. Book: Coach Hyatt Is a Riot!. Harper Trophy. 2009. 9780061554063. New York.
  5. Book: Officer Spence Makes No Sense!. Harper Trophy. 2009. 9780061554100. New York.
  6. Book: Mrs. Jafee Is Daffy!. Harper Trophy. 2009. 9780061554131. New York.
  7. Book: Dr. Brad Has Gone Mad!. Harper Collins. 2009. 9780062288912. New York.
  8. Book: Miss Laney Is Zany!. Harper Collins. 2010. 9780061554155. New York.
  9. Book: Mrs. Lizzy Is Dizzy!. Harper. 2010. 9780061554186. New York.
  10. Book: Miss Mary Is Scary!. Harper. 2010. 9780061703980. New York.
  11. Book: Mr. Tony Is Full of Baloney!. Harper. 2010. 9780061704000. New York.
  12. Book: Ms. Leakey Is Freaky!. Harper Collins. 2011. 9780061704031. New York.

My Weirder School (2011-2014)

  1. Book: Miss Child Has Gone Wild!. Harper Collins. 2011. 9780061969171. New York.
  2. Book: Mr. Harrison Is Embarrassin'!. Harper. 2011. 9780061969195. New York.
  3. Book: Mrs. Lilly Is Silly!. Harper. 2011. 9780061969201. New York.
  4. Book: Mr. Burke Is Berserk!. Harper. 2012. 9780061969232. New York.
  5. Book: Ms. Beard Is Weird!. Harper. 2012. 9780062042101. New York.
  6. Book: Mayor Hubble Is in Trouble!. Harper. 2012. 9780062042132. New York.
  7. Book: Miss Kraft Is Daft!. Harper. 2013. 9780062042163. New York.
  8. Book: Dr. Nicholas Is Ridiculous!. Harper. 2013. 9780062042187. New York.
  9. Book: Ms. Sue Has No Clue!. Harper. 2013. 9780062198396. New York.
  10. Book: Mr. Jack Is a Maniac!. Harper. 2014. 9780062198426. New York.
  11. Book: Miss Klute Is a Hoot!. Harper. 2014. 9780062198440. New York.
  12. Book: Mrs. Lane Is a Pain!. Harper Collins. 2014. 9780062198471. New York.

My Weird School Special (2013-2022)

Various spinoff specials have been published from 2013 to 2022.

  1. Book: My Weird Writing Tips. Harper Collins. 2013. 9780062091079. New York.
  2. Book: It's Halloween, I'm Turning Green!. Harper Collins. 2013. 9780062206794. New York.
  3. Book: Deck the Halls, We're Off the Walls!. Harper Collins. 2013. 9780062206831. New York.
  4. Book: Bunny Double, We're in Trouble!. Harper Collins. 2014. 9780062284006. New York.
  5. Book: Back to School, Weird Kids Rule!. Harper Collins. 2014. 9780062206855. New York.
  6. Book: Oh, Valentine, We've Lost Our Minds!. Harper Collins. 2014. 9780606364607. New York.
  7. Book: Bummer in the Summer!. Harper Collins. 2019. 9780062796813. New York.
  8. Book: We're Red, Weird and Blue! What Can We Do?. Harper Collins. 2020. 9780062796844. New York.
  9. Book: The Leprechaun is Finally Gone!. Harper Collins. 2022.

My Weirdest School (2015-2018)

  1. Book: Mr. Cooper Is Super!. Harper Collins. 2015. 9780062284228. New York.
  2. Book: Ms. Cuddy Is Nutty!. Harper Collins. 2015. 9780062284242. New York.
  3. Book: Miss Brown Is Upside Down!. Harper Collins. 2016. 9780062284273. New York.
  4. Book: Mrs. Meyer Is On Fire!. Harper Collins. 2016. 9780062284327. New York.
  5. Book: Miss Daisy Is Still Crazy!. Harper Trophy. 2016. 9780062284358. New York.
  6. Book: Mr. Nick Is A Lunatic!. Harper Trophy. 2016. 9780062284372. New York.
  7. Book: Ms. Joni Is A Phony!. Harper Trophy. 2017. 9780062429315. New York.
  8. Book: Mrs. Master Is A Disaster!. Harper Trophy. 2017. 9780062429339. New York.
  9. Book: Miss Tracy Is Spacey!. Harper Trophy. 2017. 9780062429360. New York.
  10. Book: Miss Newman Isn't Human!. Harper Trophy. 2018. 9780062429407. New York.
  11. Book: Mr. Will Needs To Chill!. Harper Trophy. 2018. 9780062429438. New York.
  12. Book: Ms. Hall Is A Goofball!. Harper Trophy. 2018. 9780062429469. New York.

My Weird School: I Can Read (2016-2018)

A series of early reading books as part of the I Can Read! line.

  1. Book: My Weird School Goes To the Museum. Harper Trophy. 2016. 9780062367440. New York.
  2. Book: My Weird School Talent Show Mix-Up. Harper Trophy. 2016. 9780062367402. New York.
  3. Book: My Weird School Class Pet Mess!. Harper Trophy. 2017. 9780062367471. New York.
  4. Book: My Weird School Teamwork Trouble. Harper Trophy. 2018. 9780062367495. New York.

My Weirder-est School (2019-2022)

  1. Book: Dr. Snow Has Got to Go!. Harper. 2019. 9780062691026. New York.
  2. Book: Miss Porter Is Out of Order!. Harper. 2019. 9780062691040. New York.
  3. Book: Dr. Floss Is the Boss!. Harper. 2019. 9780062691071. New York.
  4. Book: Miss Blake Is a Flake!. Harper. 2020. 9780062691118. New York.
  5. Book: Mr. Marty Loves a Party!. Harper. 2020. 9780062691149. New York.
  6. Book: Mrs. Bacon Is Fakin'!. Harper. 2020. 9780062691170. New York.
  7. Book: Ms. Jo-Jo Is a Yo-Yo!. Harper. 2021. 9780062910417. New York.
  8. Book: Miss. Aker is a Maker!. Harper. 2021. 9780062910448. New York.
  9. Book: Mrs. Barr Has Gone Too Far!. Harper. 2021.
  10. Book: Mr. Ott is a Crackpot!. Harper. 2022.
  11. Book: Mrs. Stoker is a Joker!. Harper. 2022.
  12. Book: Lil Mouse is in the House!. Harper. 2022.

My Weird School Fast Facts (2016-2019)

A series of nonfiction books with facts presented by A.J. and Andrea.

  1. Book: Geography. Harper Collins. 2016. 9780062306210 . New York.
  2. Book: Sports. Harper Collins. 2016. 9780062306180. New York.
  3. Book: Explorers, Presidents, and Toilets. Harper. 2017. 9780062306234. New York.
  4. Book: Space, Humans, and Farts. Harper. 2017. 9780062306272. New York.
  5. Book: Dogs, Cats, and Dung Beetles. Harper. 2018. 9780062673077. New York.
  6. Book: Dinosaurs, Dodos, and Woolly Mammoths. Harper. 2018. 9780062673107. New York.
  7. Book: Mummies, Myths, and Mysteries. Harper. 2019. 9780062673138. New York.
  8. Book: Pizza, Peanut Butter, and Pickles. Harper. 2019. 9780062673152. New York.

My Weird School Graphic Novel (2021-)

A series of graphic novels.

  1. Book: Mr. Corbett Is In Orbit!. Harper Alley. 2021. 9780062947611. New York.
  2. Book: Get A Grip We're On A Trip. Harper Alley. 2022.
  3. Book: Dorks in New York!. Harper Alley. 2023.

My Weirdtastic School (2023-)

  1. Book: Miss Banks Pulls Lots of Pranks!. HarperCollins. 2023.
  2. Book: Uncle Fred Is a Knucklehead!. HarperCollins. 2023.
  3. Book: Professor Pitt Is a Nitwit!. HarperCollins. 2023.

Supplementary books and media

Disappointed by the writing skills of the fans who write him letters, Gutman created a spinoff book in 2013, My Weird Writing Tips, to teach readers how to write.[10]

Audiobook versions of My Weird School have been bundled together with books 1-4 released together.

During lockdowns associated with COVID-19, Gutman has hosted a "My Weird Read-A-Loud" series.[11] Gutman has also read online from the My Weird School series for #OperationStoryTime on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.[12]

Running Gags

The series has been known for all it frequent running gags.

Reception

Kirkus Reviews said that the first book, Miss Daisy is Crazy!, is "a sure-fire hit for the most reluctant reader."[13] Publishers Weekly also notes that the series is a good choice for beginning readers.[14] The Reading Teacher mentioned the series in their 2008 article on choosing books for children that they will enjoy reading.[15] Some books, such as Class Pet Mess!, do contain more challenging vocabulary.[16] Mrs. Cooney Is Looney! uses homophones to provide humor.[17]

My Weirder School continues the trend of using humor that began in the My Weird School series.[18] Booklist calls the series habit forming, writing, "Fortunately, the habit is reading." Booklist has also called the depiction of some of the adults in the series as "satire."[19]

The Weird School Fast Facts series has been reviewed favorably. School Library Journal called the drawings "hilarious" in both My Weird School Fast Facts: Sports and My Weird School Fast Facts: Geography. School Library Journal also noted that Gutman's writing was especially suited to his audience of younger readers.[20] Booklist wrote that Sports was entertaining and informative.[21]

My Weird Writing Tips is a book written to help students become better writers. School Library Journal wrote that the book makes "grammar entertaining," but criticized the introduction for not being sensitive to the issues faced by bilingual students and others who have trouble with grammar.[22] Booklist, however, felt that My Weird Writing Tips was extremely funny and informative for a broad group of young readers.[23] Kirkus Reviews found the book to have useful information even if the tone of the book was "disingenuous at times and too self-consciously fun."[24]

The first four books released as an audiobook in 2005 were read by John Beach.[25] His narration was good at capturing the voices of the characters in the stories, according to Booklist. School Library Journal praised the narration of Jared Goldsmith on the audiobook, Miss Cooney Is Looney!, for capturing the voice of A.J. in a way that "brings him to life."

The series has been very successful with young readers, although Common Sense Media notes in a review that the series sometimes reinforces gender stereotypes.[26] The series also receives criticism for characters having caricatured personalities and repetitive plots.

References

  1. News: Roman . Vanessa Vera . Children's author Dan Gutman provides lessons in persistence . 3 July 2020 . The Morristown Daily Record . May 12, 2010.
  2. MacMillan. Kathleen Kelly. Mandell. Phyllis Levy. 2005. My Weird School, Books 1-4. School Library Journal. 51. 3. 88. subscription. EBSCOhost.
  3. Pierce. Lonna. 2012. Mr. Hynde Is Out of His Mind: My Weird School, Book 6. School Library Journal. 58. 8. 56. subscription. EBSCOhost.
  4. Newschwander. Jane. 2013. Ms. LaGrange Is Strange!: The Weird School, Book 8. School Library Journal. 59. 1. 62–64. subscription. EBSCOhost.
  5. News: Devencentis. Philip. 4 February 2009. Promoting School As 'Fun Place'. Wyckoff Suburban News. 12 June 2020. Newspapers.com. News: 4 February 2009. Author. Wyckoff Suburban News. 12 June 2020. Newspapers.com.
  6. News: La Gorce. Tammy. July 13, 2008. Neighborhood Storytelling. The New York Times. 3 July 2020.
  7. Gutman. Dan. May 2010. How I Corrupted America's Youth. School Library Journal. 56. 5. 28. subscription. EBSCOhost.
  8. News: Garcia. Lauren. 2015-10-15. 'My Weird School' Author Visits West Belmar School. 45. The Coast Star. 2020-07-12. Newspapers.com.
  9. News: Grant. Tracy. 2011-03-20. Children's Author Dan Gutman: He Never Forgets to Laugh. 30. The Times-News. 2020-07-12. Newspapers.com.
  10. News: Yorio. Kara. July 10, 2013. Kids author devises a weird way to teach writing skills. D1–D5. Herald News. 3 July 2020.
  11. Web site: Balfer. Topher. 2020-03-26. Keep the Kids Connected and Engaged with their Favorite Authors. 2020-07-12. My New Orleans. en-US.
  12. Web site: Pineda. Dorany. 2020-03-25. Bored and on a budget? Here's how to read for free while social distancing. 2020-07-12. Los Angeles Times. en-US.
  13. Web site: Miss Daisy Is Crazy! review . . 3 July 2020 . June 15, 2004.
  14. Web site: Miss Daisy Is Crazy!. 2020-07-12. Publishers Weekly.
  15. Harris. Violet J.. 2008. Children's Books: Selecting Books That Children Will Want to Read. The Reading Teacher. 61. 5. 426–430. 10.1598/RT.61.5.8. 20204607. 0034-0561.
  16. Spiri. Barbara. August 2017. My Weird School: Class Pet Mess!. School Library Journal. 63. 8. 60. subscription. EBSCOhost.
  17. Holland. Amy. 2012. Mrs. Cooney Is Looney!: The Weird School Book 7. School Library Journal. 58. 11. 60. subscription. EBSCOhost.
  18. Phelan. Carolyn. December 2013. Ms. Sue Has No Clue!. Booklist. 110. 7. 64. subscription. EBSCOhost.
  19. Rosenfeld. Shelle. September 2012. Ms. Beard Is Weird!. Booklist. 109. 1. 116. subscription. EBSCOhost.
  20. Nunes. Margaret. 2016. My Weird School Fast Facts: Sports/My Weird School Fast Facts: Geography. School Library Journal. 62. 4. 179. subscription. EBSCOhost.
  21. Phelan. Carolyn. 2016. My Weird School Fast Facts: Sports. Booklist. 112. 18. 44. subscription. EBSCOhost.
  22. Knutson. Sarah. September 2013. My Weird Writing Tips. School Library Journal. 59. 9. 184. subscription. EBSCOhost.
  23. Phelan. Carolyn. 2013. My Weird Writing Tips. Booklist. 109. 21. 60. subscription. EBSCOhost.
  24. Web site: My Weird Writing Tips. 12 June 2020. Kirkus Reviews.
  25. Rich. Anna. March 2005. My Weird School: Books 1-4. Booklist. 101. 13. 1218. subscription. EBSCOhost.
  26. Web site: Kingsley. Carrie. My Weird School Series Book Review. 3 July 2020. Common Sense Media.

External links

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