My Weird School Series

Book review by Carrie Kingsley, Common Sense Media
My Weird School Series Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 7+

Playful books have jokes, lessons, some stereotypes.

Dan Gutman For Beginning Readers 2004
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Parents say

age 8+

Based on 16 reviews

Kids say

age 7+

Based on 9 reviews

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A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this book.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Dan Gutman's popular My Weird School series is full of light, funny jokes about classmates, teachers, and the principal. Readers can see how the adults in the series behave in sneaky ways to trick the kids into doing more schoolwork, which is fun to watch unfold. That said, there's a consistent message that boys and "boy stuff" like sports are cool and that girls and "nerdy stuff" like being good at school are not. In several of the books, A.J. learns that school is important and can be fun, but the series reinforces some unfortunate gender stereotypes. When the teacher asks if the students are ready to learn, all the girls yell "yes" and the boys yell "no." The boys are all about physical and competitive games, and the girls run screaming after a teen pop star. The writing is funny, but the messages can be troubling.

Community Reviews

liztucker4077
liztucker4077 Adult
October 24, 2019
age 7+

Not the lessons I want my child to learn

My daughter was given this book for school as a guided reading book. She sat next to me as she read about 1/4 of it. After the questions and statements she was making, I asked to see the book. After reading some and then skipping to parts, I told her to read another book and I emailed the teacher that we wouldn't be reading this book. My 7 year old was concerned about the book by the amount of lying and the language. It's just a whole lot of lying to adults, saying people are thing are dumb, calling names, many "I hate" statements, sneaking out of the house to TP a house, etc. In the beginning my daughter raised concern and I said that the kid probably learns a lesson and gets nicer by the end - wrong. The whole book is like that. It is supposed to be funny apparently... And to take the cake - A girl's costume rips off and she is in her underwear in front of the others being laughed at and the character says "She deserves it". What!? No! That is never how to treat someone AND no one ever deserves to be naked and laughed at. All of this is not language or behavior that we take lightly or want to normalize in our home. There are so many more intelligent and funny things to read. If you are looking for a funny yet good book - try the Wayside School books. Clean yet funny.

This title has:

Too much swearing
1 person found this helpful.
karisk8s
karisk8s Adult
January 18, 2022
age 8+

Teaches kids to hate school and insult others

These books are full of negative messages (such as loving video games and hating school), and full of insults. The insults are frequently about other kids in the book (especially the smart girl) but the books even insult the reader with things like the following footnote: "What are you looking down here for? The story's up there, dumbhead!" and this quote from the text to the reader: "Man, are you dumb!". These books glorify a negative attitude towards school, bad behavior, rude sayings, and kids being mean to other kids... definitely not what I want my kids to be reading about!
See all 16 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In the MY WEIRD SCHOOL series, second-grader Arlo Jervis (aka A.J.) hates school, and he does everything he can to cause the maximum disruption while doing the minimum amount of work. Sometimes, though, he's tricked into working hard, like when his new teacher, Miss Daisy, says she doesn't know how to do math and her entire class has to teach her addition. Or when the principal, Mr. Klutz, says he'd give the school a chocolate party and kiss a pig if they wrote 100,000 spelling words. With his friends Ryan and Michael, A.J. squares off against the girls, Andrea and Emily, in a constant boys-vs.-girls battle that stereotypes learning and school as nerdy and female and sports and rambunctious behavior as innately male.

Is It Any Good?

This beginning chapter book series is for any kid who doesn't like school, enjoys watching kids get away with pranks, or wants to see school as a sillier place than it is. Kids love reading the My Weird School series. The language is age-appropriate, the adult characters are as loopy as they come, and the friendships between the kids are real. But any reader who's felt the sting of schoolyard teasing, or who's sensitive to seeing kids pick on each other, or who doesn't like the "boys vs. girls" theme might have a hard time with the content.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the name-calling in the My Weird School series. Does it seem over the top to you, or do kids at your school insult one another this much?

  • What other books about school friends have you read? Is a school friend different from a neighbor friend?

  • Can jokes turn into bullying if taken too far? What can you do if someone bullies you or if you see someone else being bullied?

Book Details

Our Editors Recommend

For kids who love humor and school stories

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