50 Fun Facts About My Weird School

Where do A.J. and his archenemy Andrea go to class in Dan Gutman's books about wacky teachers?

Ella Mentry School is named after a woman called Ella Mentry, who shows up in the stories and puts chocolate pudding on Principal Klutz's bald head.

Science teacher Mr. Docker invents a car that runs on which food in My Weird School?

Potatoes power Mr. Docker's Spudmobile, and his cackling mad-scientist laugh makes A.J. wonder whether he is trying to take over the world.

Which animal does Principal Klutz kiss on the lips in the My Weird School book Mr. Klutz Is Nuts?

A pig gets the kiss, one of the wild stunts the skateboarding principal offers as rewards; he also hangs upside down from the school flagpole.

Dan Gutman created My Weird School after watching his daughter read which series, hoping to write a boy's version?

Junie B. Jones, Barbara Park's hit series, made Gutman want to write something similar from a boy's point of view, so he invented wisecracking A.J.

Which sweet treat does teacher Miss Daisy love to eat in My Weird School's Miss Daisy Is Crazy?

Bonbons are Miss Daisy's favorite food. She also tells her class she cannot read, write, add or subtract, so the kids end up teaching her.

A.J. and his friends suspect that British student teacher Miss Mary is what in My Weird School Daze?

A vampire is their guess, because Miss Mary wears all black, lives in a cave and sleeps hanging upside down from the ceiling.

Reading specialist Mr. Macky dresses up as which U.S. president in My Weird School?

Abraham Lincoln is Mr. Macky's obsession: he lives in a log cabin and wears the costume to get the kids excited about their Presidents' Day reports.

Custodian Miss Lazar saves Principal Klutz from a rooftop fall with which tool in My Weird School?

A toilet plunger is Miss Lazar's trusty sidekick: the scooter-riding custodian behaves more like a superhero than a cleaner.

In My Weirder School, Mr. Macky hires Miss Klute to help raise reading scores; what is Miss Klute?

A therapy dog, Miss Klute is a Labradoodle the kids read stories to every day, and soon everyone wants a turn.

According to A.J. in My Weird School, grown-ups invented school so they would not have to pay whom?

Babysitters, says A.J., who also insists that kids can learn everything important from watching TV.

Which kind of wordplay runs through the titles of Dan Gutman's My Weird School chapter books?

A rhyme drives the title of each story, and most put one weird grown-up in the spotlight. Mr. Docker Is off His Rocker and Ms. Krup Cracks Me Up are typical.

How far along in school is A.J. when My Weird School begins in Miss Daisy's class?

Second grade is where A.J. begins, and he and his friends graduate to third grade in the follow-up series My Weird School Daze.

A.J. gets his first crush on beautiful Mrs. Cooney, who does which job in Dan Gutman's books?

School nurse Mrs. Cooney is so beautiful that A.J. decides he wants to marry her when he grows up, despite some dark suspicions about her.

Which job does Miss Laney do in My Weird School Daze, making A.J. recite tongue twisters?

Speech teacher Miss Laney baffles A.J., who points out that he already knows how to talk, and she soon pushes him onto the stage as well.

Mr. Harrison, who saves the day in a My Weirder School crisis, holds which job at A.J.'s school?

Tech guy Mr. Harrison can fix anything, from computers and phones to pencil sharpeners, and he builds odd inventions of his own too.

Which kind of TV program does Ms. Beard direct at A.J.'s school in Dan Gutman's Ms. Beard Is Weird?

A reality show about the school's teachers is being filmed, and everybody is desperate to win its grand prize.

In Dan Gutman's Miss Daisy Is Still Crazy, Miss Daisy returns to A.J.'s class in which role?

Substitute teacher is her new role: she steps in when A.J.'s regular teacher is out sick, and she turns out to be weirder than ever.

Which My Weirdest School teacher poses as made-up superheroes after replacing the retiring Mr. Granite?

Mr. Cooper turns up as a different hero each day, teaching about rodents as Rat Man and about volcanoes as Lava Man.

In Miss Daisy Is Crazy, which surprising opinion about school does Miss Daisy share with A.J.?

She hates it, just as A.J. does, and she would rather watch TV all day, which leaves the kids wondering whether she is a real teacher at all.

A.J. braves school secretary Mrs. Patty's house in the My Weird School book set around which holiday?

Halloween sends A.J. to Mrs. Patty's door for the best candy ever, even though people say her house is haunted and her husband is a ghost.

In My Weird School's Mrs. Cooney Is Loony, A.J. fears that his crush Mrs. Cooney is secretly what?

A spy is what A.J. suspects, and an international one at that, so he has to choose between his love for her and his love for his country.

Miss Laney forces A.J. to play the lead in which Shakespeare play in My Weird School Daze?

Romeo and Juliet is the third-grade play, and A.J. dreads finding out who will star opposite him and whether there will be kissing.

Which emergency sends A.J.'s school into a panic in Dan Gutman's Mr. Harrison Is Embarrassin'?

A blackout leaves everyone yelling and screaming in the dark when the power goes out, and only Mr. Harrison can save the day.

TV director Ms. Beard tells everybody at A.J.'s school to do what in Dan Gutman's Ms. Beard Is Weird?

Act normal is her instruction to the teachers and students alike, which is a lot to ask of the weirdest staff in the history of the world.

In Dan Gutman's Miss Daisy Is Still Crazy, what does Miss Daisy believe is out to get her?

Germs are her big fear, and instead of teaching anything she wants the kids to spend the whole day eating sweets.

New teacher Mr. Granite has strange ideas for doing what to A.J.'s school in My Weird School Daze?

Making it eco-friendly is Mr. Granite's mission, and his ideas are so odd that the kids decide he must come from another planet.

Miss Mary's zombie-like boyfriend Zack plays in which kind of band in My Weird School Daze?

Heavy metal is Zack's music, and Mr. Granite just hopes the boyfriend will stay away long enough for him to teach a math lesson.

Which football star visits A.J.'s class in the My Weird School book Miss Daisy Is Crazy?

Boomer Wiggins drops in on the class, and Miss Daisy asks him to his face whether football players are dumb, as A.J. assumes.

In Miss Daisy Is Crazy, Principal Klutz challenges A.J. and his schoolmates to pull off which feat?

Read a million pages is the goal, and Miss Daisy tracks how far the kids have got on a giant temperature mural.

Which artist draws the cartoon pictures of A.J. and his teachers in the My Weird School books?

Jim Paillot draws the series, and his pictures even explain math ideas such as circumference along the way.

Mrs. Roopy, who greets A.J.'s class as Little Miss Muffet, does which job in My Weird School?

Librarian Mrs. Roopy keeps turning up in costume, first as George Washington, and she will not admit that it is really her underneath.

Garbage-collecting art teacher Ms. Hannah wears dresses made of what in My Weird School?

Potholders make up Ms. Hannah's dresses, and in her class A.J. and his friends learn that art can be made out of anything, even trash.

Which teacher has A.J.'s class juggle scarves and do the Chicken Dance in gym in My Weird School?

Miss Small skips real sports such as dodgeball, so the kids set out to make their gym teacher behave like a grown-up.

Music teacher Mr. Hynde treats Principal Klutz's bald head like which instrument in My Weird School?

Bongo drums are just the start for Mr. Hynde, who also raps and break-dances and thinks he has what it takes to become a famous musician.

Lunch lady Ms. LaGrange, who grows her own food, comes from which country in My Weird School?

France is Ms. LaGrange's home, and she writes secret messages in the food she serves while trying to get the kids to eat healthily.

Mrs. Kormel, who greets kids in a secret language of her own, does which job in My Weird School?

Bus driver Mrs. Kormel has her own words for hello and sit down, and one morning she gets a flat tire and ends up totally lost.

Which subject does Miss Holly, who hangs mistletoe all over A.J.'s school, teach in My Weird School?

Spanish is Miss Holly's subject, and her holiday spirit goes too far for A.J., since mistletoe means boys and girls will have to kiss.

Ms. Coco, who runs the gifted and talented program, is crazy about what in My Weird School?

Poetry is Ms. Coco's passion: she cries when she sees a sunset, speaks in verse all the time and thinks boys should have feelings.

Which pet of visiting author Miss Suki gets loose in A.J.'s classroom in My Weird School?

A raptor is Miss Suki's pet, which suits an author who lives in the rainforest and writes about endangered animals.

Computer teacher Mrs. Yonkers can type using which part of her body in My Weird School?

Her feet do the typing, and the nerdy Mrs. Yonkers also buys foam cheeseheads online and straps a webcam to a turtle.

Which grumpy character fires Principal Klutz in the Thanksgiving book of the My Weird School series?

Dr. Carbles gives Principal Klutz the sack over the holiday, leaving A.J. and his friends to try to win the job back for him.

What does hippie crossing guard Mr. Louie slip into the water fountain in My Weird School?

A love potion goes into the fountain for Valentine's Day, and soon teachers are flirting and girls are asking boys out on dates.

In My Weird School's Ms. Krup Cracks Me Up, a tour guide says what comes to life at night in the museum?

Dinosaur skeletons wake up after dark, or so the guide claims, which livens up a sleepover A.J. expected to be the most boring thing ever.

Which former U.S. president speaks at A.J.'s over-the-top graduation in My Weird School Daze?

Bill Clinton shares the ceremony with farm animals, fireworks and an eternal flame, all arranged by PTA president Mrs. Dole, Ryan's mother.

Mr. Sunny, on whom Andrea develops a summer crush in My Weird School Daze, works as what?

A lifeguard at the beach, Mr. Sunny cannot rescue A.J.'s vacation once Andrea and her family rent the house next door.

Security guard Officer Spence hunts a thief who steals which kind of sandwich in My Weird School Daze?

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches keep vanishing from the lunchroom, and Officer Spence goes off the deep end, arresting everybody in sight.

Mrs. Jafee, who sets a spelling test underwater, holds which job in My Weird School Daze?

Vice principal Mrs. Jafee is put in charge for a few days and tries out her odd ideas, such as doing math while standing on your head.

What do A.J. and his friends call the lunchroom at their school in My Weird School?

The vomitorium is the kids' name for where they eat, and one new lunch lady mistakes the word for the name of a fancy restaurant.

Which planet is A.J. cast as in the school play in My Weirdest School's Miss Tracy Is Spacey?

Uranus is the unlucky role he lands in the school play. Miss Tracy, a retired scientist, visits to teach the class about the solar system.

Which TV network premiered the My Weird School movie, where a middle-school A.J. fights aliens?

Nickelodeon made the film, which moves A.J. up to middle school, where the teachers turn out to be as weird as ever.