1. PowerPoint Presentation
created by Katy Gladden
Holes by Louis Sachar

2. One day Stanley Yelnats is walking down the street and he is hit on the head by a pair of tennis shoes that came out of nowhere. Coincidentally, the shoes belong to a famous baseball player named Clyde Livingston.

3. But a mistake has been made as this is no camp and… there is no lake!
Unfortunately, Stanley is mistakenly charged with having stolen the shoes and is sentenced to serve out his crime at Camp Green Lake.
But a mistake has been made as this is no camp and… there is no lake!
morgue file:

4. Camp Green Lake is really a juvenile retention center for wayward boys set in a desert-like wasteland full of rattlesnakes and poisonous lizards. A female warden that paints her nails with rattlesnake venom runs the camp and her personality is as cruel as her fingernails.

5. Here the boys must dig five foot deep and five foot wide holes on a daily basis to supposedly build character… but the boys know better.

6. There are many unanswered questions
There are many unanswered questions. Why does the warden have the boys dig so many holes? Will Stanley ever get out of this camp or is Stanley buried so deep into this situation that he will never be able to leave?

7. Read Holes by Louis Sachar to find out.

8. General Information Title: Holes Author: Louis Sachar
Copyright Date: 1998
ISBN:
Reading Level: YA

9. Awards Newbery Medal National Book Award Boston Globe-Horn Award
ALA Best Book for Young Adults
ALA Notable Book
ALA Quick Pick

10. More Awards Christopher Award for Juvenile Fiction
New York Times Book Review
Notable Children’s Book of the Year
Horn Book Fanfare
Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
Bulletin Blue Ribbon
School Library Journal Best Book of the Year

11. Background
I first became acquainted with the story Holes while serving as a fifth grade classroom aide. I was impressed that this story appealed to both boys and girls. The students enjoyed reading this selection so much that they described the related reading assignment as not homework but “fun work”.

12. Classroom Relevance
This realistic fiction piece could serve as a prompt for students to create a book review. To inspire critical thinking skills, students should:
1. Summarize the story.
2. Include what they liked or did not like about it.
3. Answer the question: Would you recommend reading this book to other students?
4. Create an advertisement for this story.

13. Author Holes was written by Louis Sachar.
Visit his homepage at: htm
Besides Holes, Louis Sachar has also written many other enjoyable children’s books.

14. More Books Some of the other books that Louis Sachar has written are:
Small Steps, Someday Angeline, Johnny’s in the Basement, The Boy Who Lost His Face, Dogs Don’t Tell Jokes, There’s a Boy in the Girl’s Bathroom, Sixth Grade Secrets, The Marvin Redpost Series, and The Wayside School Series.

15. Which One Would You Like to Read Next?