Wayside School Wikia
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At last, Allison chose her book. It has 232 pages.
Jason took the one next to it, with 233 pages.
— Narration

"Mrs. Surlaw" is the twelfth chapter of Wayside School Beneath the Cloud of Doom.

Synopsis[]

Jason and Allison check out books from the library.

Plot[]

The chapter opens by introducing Mrs. Surlaw, who works at the school library located on the seventh floor. Her job is to organize all the books in the library by their number of pages, and not any other factor. There is a giant stuffed walrus in her room, larger than most students and some teachers. Kindergarteners are often afraid of it, until they touch its tusks and realize it's as soft as a pillow. Mrs. Surlaw is rolling her book cart along a row of bookcases, opening each book to the last page before sorting it. Mrs. Jewls's class comes rushing down the stairs, but everyone is shushed by Mrs. Jewls before rushing in. The kids remain quiet, scared of Mrs. Surlaw, before heading to check out books. Mrs. Surlaw listens to their conversations, and smiles, hearing how much the kids are enjoying the books they've been reading.

The books in Wayside School are not sorted between fiction and nonfiction, because Mrs. Surlaw is not one to decide what's real or not. Additionally, they are not sorted in alphabetical order. They are sorted solely by the number of pages they have, with skinny books on one side, and fat books on the other. Joy is checking out shorter books with 40-50 pages, since she's read everything that's shorter. Allison is looking for a longer novel to read, and settles on one with 232 pages. Jason, next to her, picks one that's one page longer. Allison repeatedly picks longer novels than Jason, and Jason always tries to pick one that is longer, but eventually Allison, annoyed, starts looking down the shelf, before dashing around a corner, while Jason struggles to put back up his book.

By the time Jason sees her again, she's hugging the walrus, meaning that she's finally checked out a book. Jason asks how many pages the book has, but Allison isn't willing to tell him, no matter how high he guesses. Rondi also checks out her book, and she and Allison leave the room. Jason tries asking Mrs. Surlaw how many pages Allison's book has, but the information is confidential. As Jason returns to the shelves, he still wants to pick out a book that's longer than the one Allison checked out, but he worries constantly that she picked a book longer than whatever he considers. He picks one with 510 pages, assuming Allison couldn't read more than that, but then wonders if she did. Jason rushes back, picking one with 573, but once again worries Allison picked one that's longer, and keeps on going. Eventually, to be absolutely safe, he picks the last book at the end of the library, which is 999 pages long. He hands it to Mrs. Surlaw, who says he'll have an excellent time reading it. Jason's not sure if he can even carry it. He checks out the book and hugs the walrus before he leaves.

Characters[]

Trivia[]

Gallery[]

V · T · E
Book chapters
Sideways Stories from Wayside School
"Mrs. Gorf" · "Mrs. Jewls" · "Joe" · "Sharie" · "Todd" · "Bebe" · "Calvin" · "Myron" · "Maurecia" · "Paul" · "Dana" · "Jason" · "Rondi" · "Sammy" · "Deedee" · "D.J." · "John" · "Leslie" · "Miss Zarves" · "Kathy" · "Ron" · "The Three Erics" · "Allison" · "Dameon" · "Jenny" · "Terrence" · "Joy" · "Nancy" · "Stephen" · "Louis"
Wayside School Is Falling Down
"A Package for Mrs. Jewls" · "Mark Miller" · "Bebe's Baby Brother" · "Homework" · "Another Story About Socks" · "Pigtails" · "Freedom" · "The Best Part" · "Mush" · "Music" · "Kathy and D.J." · "Pencils" · "A Giggle Box, a Leaky Faucet, and a Foghorn" · "Calvin's Big Decision" · "She's Back!" · "Love and a Dead Rat" · "What?" · "The Substitute" · "A Bad Case of the Sillies" · "A Wonderful Teacher" · "Forever Is Never" · "Eric, Eric, and Eric" · "Teeth" · "Another Story About Potatoes" · "A Story That Isn't About Socks" · "The Mean Mrs. Jewls" · "Lost and Found" · "Valooosh" · "The Lost Ear" · "Wayside School Is Falling Down"
Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger
"Explanation" · "A Message from the Principal" · "Poetry" · "Doctor Pickle" · "A Story with a Disappointing Ending" · "Pet Day" · "A Bad Word" · "Santa Claus" · "Something Different about Mrs. Jewls" · "Mr. Gorf" · "Voices" · "Nose" · "The New Teacher" · "A Light Bulb, a Pencil Sharpener, a Coffeepot, and a Sack of Potatoes" · "An Elephant in Wayside School" · "Mr. Poop" · "Why the Children Decided They Had to Get Rid of Mrs. Drazil" · "The Blue Notebook" · "Time Out" · "Elevators" · "Open Wide" · "Jane Smith" · "Ears" · "Glum and Blah" · "Guilty" · "Never Laugh at a Shoelace" · "Way-High-Up Ball" · "Flowers for a Very Special Person" · "Stupid" · "The Little Stranger"
Wayside School Beneath the Cloud of Doom
"The Bells of Wayside" · "A Million" · "Up and Down" · "Consider the Paper Clip" · "Eric, Eric, and What's-His-Name?" · "Oppositosis" · "The Closet That Wasn't There" · "Science" · "The Gonnnnng" · "Stuck" · "What's the Point?" · "Mrs. Surlaw" · "Umbrella" · "Mr. K and Dr. P" · "The Unbreakables" · "A Short Chapter About a Long Book" · "The Best Principal Ever!!!" · "The Mirror" · "Push-Downs" · "Inside the Closet" · "Breathe" · "The Moment" · "Blame It on the Cloud" · "The Ultimate Test, Day One" · "Jump Rope Arithmetic" · "The Ultimate, Ultimate Test" · "Kachooga Boop" · "The Teacher With the Long Fingernail" · "After the Storm" · "Rainbow"
Sideways Arithmetic from Wayside School
"Spelling" · "Numbers" · "Pronouns" · "Paragraphs" · "Recess" · "Science, Geography, Etc." · "Lunch" · "True or False" · "After School"
More Sideways Arithmetic from Wayside School
"Why Boys and Girls Are Silly" · "Some Crass Words About Women's Underwear" · "Sue's New Dog" · "Four Times Too" · "Miss Worm" · "Miss Worm Finally Understands!" · "The Quiz That Wouldn't Pop" · "Oh, No!" · "Foreign Language Lesson" · "He, She, We, and Ewe" · "Report Cards" · "The New Flagpole" · "Strange Facts" · "Game Day" · "Conclusion"
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