The Curse of the"No-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather"

books:


	• Holes (Newbery Medal Book) Louis Sachar Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), 1998 - 240 pages average customer review:based on 3283 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

Holes

In this story, Holes, events "fall from the sky," but fit neatly in place. The main character, Stanley Yelnats, is accused of stealing shoes belonging to a famous baseball player. Declared guilty, he is sent to Camp Green Lake, a juvenile detention center with little green and no lake. The boys sent there have to dig holes in the earth every day for 18 months. The Warden (note that it is capitalized) says it builds character, but apparently it doesn't. Stanley makes a new friend, Zero. The book may be a bit boring for a while, but thing heat up when Zero hits one of the staff on the head with his shovel and runs away! Stanley then goes after him, and sets out on an adventure that will change him forever.
This Newberry book is great. It is filled with suspense, a bit of mystery, and adventure. When things heat up, it seems a lot better. It's just a page-turner. There are many questions to be answered in this book just waiting for you to read and find the answer!

for more information click here

The Curse of the"No-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather"

What would you do if you found a brand new bike on the side of the street, just lying there? This isn't just any bike. This bike is the bike you have always been dreaming of having. As you ride off on your bike the police come chasing after you and tell you that you are being arrestued for theft. Now there are just two choices: go to jail, or to camp. This is the exact scenario that occurs in Holes, a novel written by Louis Sachar.
A boy named Stanley Yelnats (Yelnats spells Stanley backwards) comes upon a nice new pair of shoes. Stanley takes these shoes and walks away. As Stanley starts walking away the police start to chase after him and tell him he is being arrested for the theft of shoes that were being given to a charity. Why is Stanley being arrested if he just stumbled along a pair of shoes eon the street?
Stanley Yelnats is under a curse. This curse began with his "No-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather." The curse continued throughout the Yelnats generations. How can this curse be stopped?
Stanley is treated unfair and is now on his way to Camp Green Lake where the "boys build character by spending all day, every day digging holes five feet wide and five feet deep." There is definitely no lake at Camp Green Lake, but there are many holes (too many to count). Why are they digging these holes? What could the warden be looking for?
This book is filled with adventure, humor and excitement. I would recommend this book to all children ages from 9-14, and kids who like to read a book that really draws you in, and won't let go.

for more information click here

Dig up Holes

Dig up Holes

In the book Holes by Louis Sachar, many unfortunate things happen to the main character, Stanley. Stanley was accidentally accused of stealing a basketball player's shoes from a charity auction. Stanley's family was always kind of cursed for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Since Stanley was accused of committing this crime, he was shipped to a juvenile center called Camp Green Lake, but there was definitely no lake. Camp Green Lake was a giant desert. The punishment for the bots sent there was that they had to dig holes in the hot steamy desert all day long. All the boys at Camp Green Lake realized the warden must have been looking for something in those holes, Band wondered, "what could she be looking for in the middle of the desert in a dried up river?"
This is just one of the many interesting facts and questions that are answered in Holes. If you like books with a lot of twists and turns and adventure, this book is perfect for you. It is probably best suited for readers ages 9-14. The book is also great for readers who like fiction books. Another great book I would recommend by Louis Sachar is Small Steps, which is the sequel to Holes. All and all Louis Sachar is a very talented, gifted writer who writes great books for young readers.

for more information click here

the start of the book Holes

Stanley yelnats was walking home from school one day when clyde livingstons shoes fell on him. He thought they fell from the sky. He got arrested cause they thought he stole the shoes from the homeless shelter. The judge gives Stanley a choice either go to jail or... Camp Green Lake.He chose Camp Green Lake cause he has never been to a camp before.Stanley has to make holes, 5 feet in width and 5 feet in length. Stanley figures out there not digging holes to build character like Mr.Sir said no... stanley thought they must be digging for something... something... IMPORTANT. Stanley was right.

for more information click here

Who Doesn't Have Holes in Their Lives?

There is a way to list all reviews for this book from poorest rating to five stars. I wanted to know what was said in 1-star-rated reviews. Out of 3246 reviews 49 had one star for their rating of this book. I read some of them and I was surprised that several praised it, yet gave it only a star. I guess they didn't realize they had to pick a rating and not just write a review. But other one-star reviews reminded me of Hattie Parker; pointing their quivering fingers at the book as if to say, "God will punish you!"

Rochester, New York, has a world class museum called the Museum of Play (MuseumOfPlay DOT com) where I take my family to frequently. It is a gigantic place with a giant, whose hands children can move and play with; there is the Lego area; doll area; many old, but once popular, games are on display. It has a bit of a science museum feel to it, too. There is a magnificent temperature-controlled butterfly exhibit with tropic plants and waterfalls--heaven in other words--in the middle of cold Western/Upstate New York weather. It also serves as a library with Children's books.

A few days ago, while waiting for my 3.5-year old daughter at the silicon sandbox area, I noticed a sign that said in effect: "Take a book and read it in a comfortable place." Underneath this sign was "HOLES".

The book is adorned with a large golden label that reads "John Newberry Medal" and underneath that: "For the Most Distinguished Contribution to American Literature for Children". I try not to judge a book by its cover. I judge it by its first page.

The first page brings out a conspiracy of a strange sort: a vast lake that had all its water evaporated a hundred years ago and now there lived campers, who were not allowed to lie in the hammock. What kind of a place is this? What happened to this lake? Is it global warming Al Gore keeps talking about? Later I learned this is a camp for boys who misbehaved. But it is really a place for adults who are misbehaving. How will the hero, Stanley Yelnats, survive this ordeal?

The story has flashbacks to another time, a hundred years ago, before the great drought, when a young and beautiful teacher had fallen in love with a man named Sam, who could fix anything she asked for. She so wanted to be close to him that she reeled him in from fixing the roof, to fixing the windows, to fixing her table. Finally when she declares that her heart is broken, Sam says, "I can fix that" and kisses her. But because Sam was an African-American and the teacher not, sad things happen to them, a hundred years ago.

Sad things happen in life. Louis Sachar is honest about the sadness. But when great writers, like Louis Sachar, write about sadness, it's because they don't want it to continue. That is why they make this world a better place to live in.

-Erol Lore

for more information click here

reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, page 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19

hot

not?

What's your opinion?

Write a review and share your thoughts!

recommendations

A Precious Children's Collection ...
Find a Treasure on Your Bookshelves
Wonderful Books for young people
Michael's Children's Book Picks
Real Great Books For Kids

search for books
book, holes, medal, newbery

Impressum / about us