Holes

  Holes

For my third post, I decided to choose Holes. Holes was written by Louis Sachar, and is an award winning book that every child should read. This is one of those books that can be read over and over again, and it still would not be boring. This book is about a boy named Stanley, who is framed for a crime he did not commit. Stanley is blamed for stealing a pair of very expensive sneakers. Stanley is given two choices at his court hearing by the judge. He can either go to jail, or go to Camp Green Lake. Stanley decides that the camp sounds a lot better. At this camp, the counselors make the boys digs holes all day long. The holes have to be a certain amount deep and round before they are allowed to go back to camp for the night. Throughout the story, it is told many times that the real reason Stanley is at the camp is due to a family curse. By the end of the story Stanley finally has the story unraveled, and the curse broken. Stanley also finds out why the boys have to dig the holes in the end too.

            This story falls under the genre of realistic fiction. This is the type of story that could really happen. The people could all be real, and the places look real. This book is set in modern times, and everything in the book looks real and genuine. If you did not know it was fiction, it would be very hard to figure it out. The only way to tell that this is fiction is the family curse story. Family curses do not really exist. This story also belongs in realistic fiction because it deals with feelings that are real. All of the things that Stanley goes through could happen to someone else.

            The first project I would do with this story would be for the students to make up their own family curse. After reading the story, I would encourage the students to create a curse of their that they think could be added to the story. After all the students make their curses, I would have them share it with the class. The second project I would have the students do is a timeline of events. This could be done using a graphic organizer. Since there are a lot of events that occur in this story, it might help the students stay on track for a quiz or test.

            I really love this story. I have probably read this book 3 or 4 times and have seen the movie countless times. I think this book is great for children who think reading is boring. This book has lots of adventure and mystery in it and would encourage any person to want to continue reading.

Sachar, Louis. Holes. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1998. Print.