I know it is late in the month to be posting a book to suggest you read this month. So I picked a short read - one that has a happy ending that you are sure to enjoy no matter what your age. Holes by Louis Sachar. Yes, it is a young adult book, yes it was a movie. But it is such a good story I could read it again and again. Who doesn't want to read a book about a kid, wrongly accused, who has to suffer through some miserable stuff only to find out that a new friend is really an old family friend, and when he helps him, only good comes from it.
Questions to Ask as you read:
1. In what ways is the saying "You can't judge a book by its cover" a good one for this story? For example, what do you expect Camp Green Lake to be like based on its name? What is it really like?
2. What do you think the title Holes means? What might be another reason other than the holes the boys dig in the lake? What hole (or holes) is in Stanley 's life when he first arrives at Camp Green Lake ? Are the holes still there when he leaves?
3. Stanley 's father, an inventor, says, "I learn from failure." What do you think this means? In what ways have you learned from failure?
4. At home, Stanley did not have friends. But at Camp Green Lake, he forms a special friendship with Zero. How did Zero and Stanley prove their friendship to each other? In what way does Zero fill a hole in Stanley's life? How is Stanley 's friendship with Zero similar to Kate Barlow's friendship with Sam? In each case why don't people approve of the friendship?
5. What is the significance of Stanley 's name being a palindrome - a word that is spelled the same way forward and backward?
6. Where does Stanley find the strength to carry Zero up the mountain? Why did he do it even though he didn't know what he'd find at the top? Describe something you've done that at first seemed impossible. What did you learn from the experience?
7. When Hattie Parker sees Katherine and Sam kiss, she says, "God will punish you!" Based on the events later in the book, whom do you think God punished?
Questions to Ask as you read:
1. In what ways is the saying "You can't judge a book by its cover" a good one for this story? For example, what do you expect Camp Green Lake to be like based on its name? What is it really like?
2. What do you think the title Holes means? What might be another reason other than the holes the boys dig in the lake? What hole (or holes) is in Stanley 's life when he first arrives at Camp Green Lake ? Are the holes still there when he leaves?
3. Stanley 's father, an inventor, says, "I learn from failure." What do you think this means? In what ways have you learned from failure?
4. At home, Stanley did not have friends. But at Camp Green Lake, he forms a special friendship with Zero. How did Zero and Stanley prove their friendship to each other? In what way does Zero fill a hole in Stanley's life? How is Stanley 's friendship with Zero similar to Kate Barlow's friendship with Sam? In each case why don't people approve of the friendship?
5. What is the significance of Stanley 's name being a palindrome - a word that is spelled the same way forward and backward?
6. Where does Stanley find the strength to carry Zero up the mountain? Why did he do it even though he didn't know what he'd find at the top? Describe something you've done that at first seemed impossible. What did you learn from the experience?
7. When Hattie Parker sees Katherine and Sam kiss, she says, "God will punish you!" Based on the events later in the book, whom do you think God punished?
