Even though "Sideways Stories from Wayside School" is based on a children's book of the same name by Louis Sachar, director Jason Ballweber assures us that the Know Theatre Company production is fit and funny for all ages.

"We had a full  house opening night" on Nov. 28, he said, "and of the 99 people in the house, only about seven were children, but there were still enough laughs to make you think they were all kids."

The play, which is not a musical but contains some music, concerns a school that was accidentally built sideways when an architect made a mistake and instead of having 30 classrooms on one floor, ended up with one classroom on each of the 30 floors.

The characters, as one might expect in a sideways school, tend to be a little odd themselves. Leslie can't read unless she's standing on her  head because the letters all look upside down to her.

"It's written in a realistic way within it's own world, but brought to a more fantastic level," Ballweber said. "It's a world that encourages the use of the imagination."

Tickets are $12. Visit the Know Theatre website or call (513) 300-KNOW for showtimes and more information.

• In celebration of the joys of reading--our portal into the imaginative world of Wayside School--Know Theatre is holding a book drive to benefit The Peaslee Neighborhood Center and the Literacy Network of Greater Cincinnati. Visitors are invited to bring a gently used or out-grown books to the performance and they will go to good use with these organizations.