Awards: Newbery, 1999; National Book Award for Young People's Literature, 1998; ALA Notable Book; New York Times Book Review Notable Children's Book of the Year; Texas Lone Star Award Nominee; Publishers Weekly Bestseller.
I first read about Stanley Yelnats in Holes when I was teaching eighth grade resource reading a few years after it had been published. As my students and I went through the angst and adventures with Stanley, we realized that this was so much more than just a story about a boy who was misjudged and wrongly convicted of theft. The three stories that incorporate Holes cause it to be one of many books that I enjoy reading and teaching over and over. The depth of the stories that inner twine make it a book that can be discussed on many levels about human nature and society just like The Giver. The literary qualities such as foreshadow, backflash, symbolism, and palindrome seen in Holes cause it to be a fun book to not only read but to work with for both the reader and the teacher. I especially like how each story could not only stand alone and has a theme, but also blends in together to make the book what it is. Just like our past and what is going on around us, is part of what makes us who we are.
No comments:
Post a Comment