Newbery Book 2

Holes, by Louis Sachar, won the Newbery Medal in 1999.

What I really loved about Holes was that it teaches children about overcoming obstacles and doing the right thing. Stanley Yelnats' family is cursed, and he is wrongly accused of a crime and sent to a detention center called Camp Green Lake. Stanley has to dig holes every single day. There, Stanley meets Zero, a boy who cannot read. What the boys didn't know was that the camp warden had them digging holes to find the outlaw, Kissin' Kate Barlow's, fortune. Stanley and Zero end up banding together and face many obstacles. In the end, the boys dig up the truth behind the "holes" and the curse on Stanley's family. The story has many great examples of "doing what's right" instead of what is easy, and overcoming the odds.

I think I reacted to the book in this way because I can think of many times in my life and others' lives where we have almost felt "cursed" because of how badly things get sometimes. You have to face your obstacles one at a time, strive for the best outcome, and help those in need along the way, just as Stanley Yelnats did in this story.

Another book I have read by Louis Sachar is Sideways Stories from Wayside School. While the story lines in the books are drastically different, they do have one thing in common: humor. Louis Sachar's books are full of humorous moments. Even though the message in the story Holes is more serious, the humor really entertains and makes Stanley a well-liked character.

An insight about children's literature gained from this book is that great literature grabs the reader's attention immediately and holds it. It delivers many messages. Holes is probably one of the most entertaining books that I have read for this blog. I couldn't put it down.