Holes by Louis Sachar

1999 Newbery Winner among many other notable awards

Newbery Chapter Book
Holes by Louis Sachar - Paperback Book - The Parent Store

Stanley Yelnats is sent to a detention camp after being wrongfully accused of stealing a valuable pair of shoes. Stanley and the other boys at Camp Green Lake are supposed to dig holes to build character, but Stanley quickly realizes that isn't the real reason for digging holes. In the end, Stanley and his new friend, Hector, discover the reason for the digging, buried treasure. Camp Green Lake is shut down and Stanley and Hector are reunited with their families. 
This book would be best for students around middle school ages, about fourth to eighth grade. The characters in the story would be great for older students to analyze to better understand the relationships and cause and effect behind them. Younger students could put together the different plot lines that appear in the book to better understand the plot as a whole. I would definitely use this book in a unit if I ever taught Language Arts, but if not, I would still include this in my classroom as a bookshelf book for students to read. 

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