
Wayside School Beneath the Cloud of Doom

Wayside School Beneath the Cloud of Doom is a 2020 children's short story cycle novel by American author Louis Sachar. It is the fourth book in the main "Wayside School" series, and the sixth book overall.
The book is set in the titular Wayside School, an elementary school that was accidentally built sideways, being thirty stories tall with one classroom on each floor, but without a nineteenth story. The book focuses on the school as the Cloud of Doom, a large gloomy storm cloud, settles above the school, inciting bouts of anxiety and depression in the students. In an interview with the Washington Post, Louis Sachar explains that the story was inspired by various factors in the modern world that have been causing him stress, including global warming, his mother's battle with Alzheimer's disease, and the election of Donald Trump.
Reception.
"Wayside School Beneath the Cloud of Doom" has been met with largely positive reception from critics. Carrie Kingsley of Common Sense Media gave the book 5 out of 5 stars, claiming that "Beneath the teachers' comically odd takes on math, spelling bees, and P.E., there's a feeling of warmth among the students as they learn to be more forgiving and to stick together. The oddball interactions between the faculty and students always comes from a place of kindness: The terrifying Ultimate Test gives every student a chance to shine, and even the dreaded lunch lady gets it right sometimes." "Kirkus Reviews" additionally published a positive review of the book, stating that even after a 25-year gap from the previous book in the series, the new entry retains an entertaining sense of humor. A review from "Publishers Weekly" assesses the book positively as well, stating that "Sachar’s snappy comedic stride doesn’t miss a beat in his series’ fourth installment—the first since 1995's "Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger"—as the curiosities of Mrs. Jewls's 30th-floor classroom multiply more quickly than ever."