The names chosen for the characters range from the strange to the common too. There's Wiglaf (the main character), Eric (who is really Erica in disguise), Mordred (borrowed from somewhere I'm sure), Coach Plungett (Plunkett?), Yorick (borrowed from somewhere I'm sure), Brother Dave (who speaks in King James English), and more.
I read the first two books in the series: The New Kid at School and Revenge of the Dragon Lady. Both had an identical "DSA Yearbook" as the last ~20 pages of the book. Each book (the story part) was 90 pages long. I'm guessing the others in the series unnecessarily have that Yearbook at the end too. It's simply a map of the DSA and character sketches of the main participants.
In each of these two books, the hero (Wiglaf) manages to "slay" a dragon without ever having to kill one outright. In the first book, he slays one by telling it bad jokes. In the second, the dragon dies when it accidentally takes a "bath" in the castle moat. I'm guessing that similar things happen in the other books as well.
These books should be an easy read for 3rd graders. Many will probably not find them all that interesting though. Boys would probably like them more than girls. But all this is generalizing and conjecture.
They are not high on my recommendation list, but I wouldn't recommend against them either. (Can you say, "Waffle"?)
