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Holes
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Holes: Book 1

Holes (1998) (edit title/settings)

by Louis Sachar (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

Stanley Yelnats is sentenced to dig holes at Camp Green Lake detention center for allegedly stealing a pair of sneakers. His grandfather tells him it is because a curse of bad luck that's in the family, which all started because of his no-good, dirty, rotten, pig-stealing... read more

Summary edit see section history

Holes is a Realistic Fiction chapter book. The book is not very long, which makes it a fairly quick read. It is easy to understand.This book does have a movie, so people can compare and contrast the two. The book has a few major themes to it; friendship and family, not giving up, and... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

Holes is a Realistic Fiction chapter book. The book is not very long, which makes it a fairly quick read. It is easy to understand.This book does have a movie, so people can compare and contrast the two. The book has a few major themes to it; friendship and family, not giving up, and fulfilling promises.

"Stanley Yelnats is under a curse. A curse that began with his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather and has since followed generations of Yelnats. Now Stanley has been unjustly sent to a boys' detention center, Camp Green Lake, where the warden makes the boys "build character" by spending all day, every day, digging holes: five feet wide and five feet deep. It doesn't take long for Stanley to realize there's more than character improvement going on at Camp Green Lake. The boys are digging holes because the warden is looking for something. Stanley tries to dig up the truth in this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment—and redemption." (From Amazon synopsis)

Characters edit see section history

  • Stanley Yelnats IV "Caveman": Main character who is sent to Camp Greenlake after being at the wrong place at the wrong time. After he digs his first hole but finds he is trapped there because he doesn't have the strength to pull himself out. Stanley's name is a palindrome.
  • Stanley Yelnats III: The father of the main character, and the inventor of the shoe spray to eliminate odors. Spends life trying to find a way to eliminate foot order in sneakers.
  • Stanley Yelnats Jr: Stanley's grandfather, who tells him stories about his ancestors. Obsessed with family history.
  • Stanley Yelnats Sr.: Stanley got robbed by Kate Barlow, and ran away.
  • Elya Yelnats: The Yelnats' "no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather". He lived in Latvia, failed to carry a crippled gypsy woman up a mountain (a promise he had made) in exchange for the pig she had given him.
  • Madame Zeroni: The gypsy who cursed the Yelnats family. She is elderly and has lost her left foot which confines her to a wheelchair.
  • X-ray (Rex): X-Ray is the unofficial leader of Tent D. He wears thick glasses and can hardly see without the glasses. Everyone looks up to him.
  • Squid (Alan): Squid is a Member of the group D.
  • José "Magnet": One of the kids at the camp. Known for stealing and refers to his fingers as "magnets"
  • Charles & Linda Walker: This character was given a nickname that represented his smelly feet from a foot fungus.
  • Mr. Pendanski "Mom": The group D counselor. Not a very nice guy. Nickname "mom" because he is very caring.
  • Ms. Morengo: This character is an attorney who comes to release a character from camp.
  • Mary Lou: Was a donkey reported to be fifty-years-old and to have survived that long in good health because she only ate onions.
  • "Kissin" Kate Barlow: Kate was once the only school teacher in the town of Camp Green Lake about 110 years ago. But then became a outlaw.
  • Hector Zeroni "Zero": A quiet boy who surprises everyone with his digging skill. Is smarter than what people expect.
  • Mr. Sir: He is one of the staff in Camp Green Lake. He is the first person in Camp Green Lake that Stanley Yelnats encounters.
  • Derrick Dunne: Bullies Stanley Yelnats. Smaller than Stanly, which is why people tend to think that Stanley is the bully.
  • Clyde Livingston: This character is a famous baseball player who donates a pair of beautiful tennis shoes to an auction to raise money for poor children.
  • Sam, the onion man: Sam was a strong and smart African American man that lived in the town.Sam knew how to make many medicinal remedies out of onions. He had a donkey.
  • Zigzag / Ricky: This character is another fellow member of Work Group D who has frizzy, wild blond hair and a huge head sitting on a long skinny neck.
  • Mrs. Bell: A math teacher at a middle school and uses a fat child and a skinny child to demonstrate a 1:3 ratio in class.
  • Ms. Walker, aka the Warden: The terrifying tall, red-haired, freckle-faced woman, Warden of Camp Green Lake.
  • Igor Barkov: This character is a 57-year-old pig farmer with fat cheeks who is raising a pig in order to win the right to marry a young girl.
  • Mrs. Gladys Tennyson: This character was the woman from the old Camp Green Lake who ran out in her nightclothes to tell people a medicine cured her daughter who was sick from eating bad meat.
  • Myra Menke: This character is a beautiful but empty-headed young woman in Latvia, with a father who plans to choose a suitor for This character based on which suitor has the best pig.
  • Becca: Add a description of this character.
  • Linda Miller: This young red-headed student in old Green Lake and is responsible for the death of a bandit.
  • Dr. Hawthorne: This character was the doctor of the Camp Green Lake of the 1800's. This character used an onion ointment on his bald head. The local doctor who does not always prescribe and diagnose diseases and illnesses correctly.
  • Theodore "Armpit": He is Stanley's first friend.
  • Bo: bought onion juice from Sam
  • Hattie Parker: This character from the Camp Green Lake of 110 years ago saw two characters kissing and then said, "God will punish you!"
  • Sarah Miller: Elya's wife. Don't know if she's related to Linda Miller or not. This strong, hard-working, practical character is smart and can do chores like milking and plowing.
Show all 32 characters
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Quotes edit see section history

  • “Stanley could hear his heart beat. Each beat told him he was still alive, at least for one more second.”
    Narrator
  • “A lot of people don't believe in curses. A lot of people don't believe in yellow-spotted lizards either, but if one bites you, it doesn't make a difference whether you believe in it or not.”
  • “His muscles and hands weren't the only parts of his body that had toughened over the past several weeks. His heart had hardened as well.”
  • “"If only, if only," the woodpecker sighs, "The bark on the tree was just a little bit softer." While the wolf waits below, hungry and lonely, He cries to the moo-oo-oon, "If only, if only."”
  • “If only, if only, the moon speaks no reply;Reflecting the sun and all that's gone by.Be strong my weary wolf, turn around boldly.Fly high, my baby birdMy angel, my only.”
  • “This ain't no girl scout camp!”
    Mr Sir
  • “My name is Mr. Sir. You shall call me by my name”
    Mr. Sir

Setting & Locations edit see section history

  • Camp Green Lake: The town used to be by the largest lake in the state, but became a dry lake-bed after Sam was killed on the lake 110 years earlier
  • Wreck Room: Recreational area the boys use-TV doesn't work well.
  • Texas: state in the U.S.A.

Organizations edit see section history

  • Girl Scouts: Founder Juliette Gordon Low organized the first Girl Scout Troop on March 12, 1912, in Savannah, Georgia. Girl Scouts of the USA was chartered by the U.S. Congress on March 16, 1950. Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place.

First Sentence edit see section history

There is no lake at Camp Green Lake.

Series & Lists edit see section history

This is book 1 of 2 in Holes. (standard series)

Followed by Small Steps.

This is book 48 of 194 in Shelfari Most Popular (December 2010). (authoritative list)
This is book 42 of 195 in Shelfari Most Popular (December 2011). (authoritative list)
This is book 59 of 195 in Shelfari Most Popular (June 2010). (authoritative list)
This is book 42 of 195 in Shelfari Most Popular (June 2011). (authoritative list)
This book is in Newbery Medal. (authoritative list)
This is book 32 of 216 in Whitcoulls Kids' Top 50 (2011). (authoritative list)
This is book 16 of 95 in Estrela do Mar. (community list)
This is book 954 of 986 in 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up. (authoritative list)
This is book 83 of 200 in BBC 'Big Read' Top 200 Novels, 2003. (authoritative list)

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Louis Sachar (Author)

Other Contributors:

  1. Leelo Märjamaa (Translator)
  2. Rein Põder (Editor)
  3. Jüri Mildeberg (Cover Artist)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Bloomsbury Children
Country: United States of America
Publication Date: 1998
ISBN: 0439244196
Page Count: 233

Awards edit see section history

Show all 34 awards

Classification edit see section history

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Reading Level: Young Adults

Discusses theme of child punishment.

Movie Connections edit see section history

More Books Like This edit see section history

   
  • Small Steps
  • Stanley Yelnats' Survival Guide to Camp Green Lake

Books Influenced by This Book edit see section history

   
  • Stanley Yelnats' Survival Guide to Camp Green Lake
  • Small Steps

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