Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger is a 1995 children's short story cycle novel by American author Louis Sachar, and the third book in his Wayside School series.
Plot
1. Explanation Louis finally removes every cow that had crowded the school in Wayside School is Falling Down. After 243 days, the students and faculty all return to the school. Todd is the one who is the most excited about returning to Wayside School out of everyone else, as he was sent to the most horrible school he had ever been to: the reader's.
2. A Message From The Principal The principal of Wayside, Mr. Kidswatter, gives a seemingly professional speech on the PA system. However, he forgets to turn the PA off upon finishing, and loudly expresses irritation about having to return from his extended vacation to Jamaica.
3. Poetry The students are assigned to write poems about a specific color. Allison decides to write a poem about the color purple, but can't figure out a word that rhymes with "purple". Likewise, Rondi decides to write a poem about the color blue, but can't find a good rhyming word for "blue". When the poems are turned in, the students have written very strange poems about the colors they chose, while Rondi decided to not write anything.
4. Doctor Pickle The chapter introduces Dr. Pickell, who is also known as "Dr. Pickle", though his name is not the reason (it is pronounced with emphasis on the second syllable). Dr. Pickell is a psychiatrist who uses a pickle-like stone to hypnotize people and use aversion therapy to break bad habits. As a prank, he also adds an additional stipulation to their treatment. For example, when he helps a woman quit smoking by making her think her cigarettes feel and taste like worms, he also makes her slap her husband's face when he says the word "potato." He is ultimately disbarred from practicing psychiatry, so he becomes a counselor at an elementary school.
5. A Story with a Disappointing Ending Paul is sent to visit the new school counselor, as he cannot control his urge to pull Leslie's pigtails. The psychiatrist uses a strange pickle-like stone to hypnotize Paul, making him think Leslie's pigtails are rattlesnakes when he tries to grab them, but also adding that he will see Leslie's ears as candy when he hears the word "pencil". After Paul returns to class, Leslie breaks her pencil, and borrows one from a classmate; this is all accomplished without saying the word "pencil".
6. Pet Day All of the students bring their pets to school. The pets have unusual names, leading to confusion from Mrs. Jewls. The chapter is structured similarly to Abbott and Costello's "Who's on First?"
7. A Bad Word After Mr. Kidswatter spills coffee on his new suit while opening a door, he declares "door" a forbidden word, and requires everybody to call it a "goozack" from that point forward. Todd shows up late to school, and is subsequently punished for saying "door".
8. Santa Claus It is almost Christmas, but Kathy is the only one in the class who does not believe in Santa Claus. When Louis comes into the classroom dressed as Santa Claus, Kathy tries to prove that Santa Claus isn't real. Mrs. Jewls eventually resolves the situation by saying that Louis is one of Santa's helpers, and the class vows to help Santa Claus even if he isn't real.
9. Something Different About Mrs. Jewls The kids suspect that something is different about Mrs. Jewls when they notice that she's eating strange things and getting overly-emotional over everything that she sees. Their suspects are confirmed when Mrs. Jewls tells the class that she is pregnant and expecting her first child. Mrs. Jewls announces that she will be on maternity leave, and a man named Mr. Gorf will be substituting for her.
10. Mr. Gorf The class waits for Mr. Gorf arrive to class; they remain on their best behavior, as they fear that Mr. Gorf is the husband of their harsh former teacher, Mrs. Gorf. They soon they realize that he hasn't arrived, and figure that he must be hiding, so they resume work as normal. Myron, however, cracks under the pressure. Using the freedom he obtained in the last book, he jumps on the tables and sits at the teacher's desk. The other students worry about his misbehavior, but he assures Mr. Gorf isn't there, only to find him in the closet.