The My Weirdtastic School Series in Order

About the My Weirdtastic School series

Series Premise

Every book takes place at Ella Mentry School (or one of its bizarre offshoots), where a new, completely over-the-top teacher arrives and turns ordinary school days into ridiculous, chaotic adventures filled with wacky inventions, bizarre rules, and nonstop silliness. The students—especially the narrator A.J. and his friends—must survive the teacher’s wild ideas while trying to learn something (or at least not get in too much trouble) in the process.

The series can be read in any order. Each book is a standalone, self-contained story focused on one outrageous teacher and one main ridiculous situation, with no overarching plot, character aging, or cliffhanger continuity across titles. Order doesn’t matter at all—kids can pick up any book at any time and jump right into the fun without missing anything important.

Main Characters

A.J. — The main narrator (in most books), a third-grade boy who hates school, thinks most adults are weird, and constantly narrates his disbelief and sarcastic commentary. He’s funny, skeptical, and always getting dragged into the teacher’s latest scheme.

- Andrea — A.J.’s goody-two-shoes classmate and arch-nemesis who loves school, follows rules, and enjoys pointing out when A.J. is wrong. Their constant bickering provides much of the humor.

- The weird teachers (various) — Each book introduces a new, completely bonkers teacher with an outrageous personality and teaching style (a teacher who hates reading, one obsessed with clowns, one who thinks everything is a game, etc.). They are the engine of the absurdity.

- Supporting classmates and adults — A.J.’s friends (Michael, Ryan, Neil the nude kid), the principal Mr. Klutz (who encourages the weirdness), and other teachers and staff who add to the chaotic fun.

- The parents — A.J.’s mom and dad appear occasionally, usually bewildered or amused by the school’s antics.

Setting

The series is set at Ella Mentry School (and occasionally related locations like a summer camp or weird field-trip destination), a fictional elementary school in an ordinary American town. The school is deliberately normal on the outside—classrooms, cafeteria, playground, gym, library—but every teacher turns it into a bizarre, one-of-a-kind place. The setting is timeless and relatable: desks, chalkboards, recess, lunch trays, and school buses provide the familiar backdrop against which the teachers’ crazy ideas explode into comedy.

Tone & Themes

The tone is zany, irreverent, and nonstop funny, written in a fast, conversational first-person voice (usually A.J.’s) that is full of exaggeration, sarcasm, and kid-logic complaints about school. The humor is broad, silly, and very child-centered—everything is over-the-top absurd, teachers are comically weird, and the kids’ reactions are hilariously dramatic. There is zero scariness or mean-spiritedness; the books are pure, joyful silliness that celebrates how ridiculous and fun school can feel when you’re a kid. The mood is light-hearted, energetic, and endlessly entertaining—designed to make reluctant readers laugh and keep turning pages.

Dan Gutman’s My Weirdtastic School series is pure, joyful chaos that turns everyday school life into a nonstop comedy of ridiculous teachers and hilarious kid reactions. Through A.J.’s sarcastic narration and the Clue Crew-style teamwork of his friends, the books celebrate imagination, friendship, and the idea that school can be wildly entertaining—even when it’s completely bonkers. The series remains a go-to favorite for early readers and reluctant readers alike—short, funny, and impossible to put down. It leaves kids with the happy certainty that no matter how weird the teacher or the day, there’s always something funny (and maybe even a little smart) waiting around the corner.