Holes Audiobook By Louis Sachar cover art

Holes

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Holes

By: Louis Sachar
Narrated by: Kerry Beyer, Louis Sachar
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About this listen

This groundbreaking classic is now available in a special anniversary edition with bonus content. Winner of the Newbery Medal as well as the National Book Award, HOLES is a New York Times bestseller and one of the strongest-selling middle-grade books to ever hit shelves!

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 Yelnatses. Now Stanley has been unjustly sent to a boys' detention center, Camp Green Lake, where the boys build character by spending all day, every day digging holes exactly five feet wide and five feet deep. There is no lake at Camp Green Lake. But there are an awful lot of holes.

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. But what could be buried under a dried-up lake? Stanley tries to dig up the truth in this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment
—and redemption.

Special anniversary edition bonus content includes: A New Note From the Author!; "Ten Things You May Not Know About HOLES" by Louis Sachar; and more!

©1998 Louis Sachar (P)1999 Random House, Inc., Listening Library, An Imprint Of Random House Audio Publishing Group
Action & Adventure Fiction Growing Up Growing Up & Facts of Life Mysteries Mystery & Suspense Social & Life Skills Friendship Feel-Good Funny Heartfelt Suspenseful Kids Fiction Chapter For Kids
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Critic reviews

Winner of the Newbery Medal

Winner of the National Book Award

#1 New York Times Bestseller

A New York Public Library's 100 Great Children's Books 100 Years Selection

"A dazzling blend of social commentary, tall tale and magic realism."—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

"There is no question, kids will love Holes."—School Library Journal, Starred Review

"[A] rugged, engrossing adventure."—Kirkus Reviews

Featured Article: The top 100 kids books of all time


Listening to a story is the first way that we’re introduced to books as kids. And while our parents and grandparents (and babysitters and siblings!) are no doubt wonderful narrators who left indelible marks on our bookish hearts, the performances featured on this list elevate these stories to new heights. Representing listens for kids ages 0-12, and featuring animals, magical creatures, awkward middle schoolers, and more, our kids essentials will help you rediscover the magic of childhood.

Interconnected Storylines • Unexpected Plot Twists • Distinctive Character Voices • Meaningful Life Lessons
Highly rated for:
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Excellent story, well told. I couldn't quite give it 5-stars because I thought the narration was a bit stilted. But the story held my interest all the way through - the mixture of past and present was woven together well and tied up the loose ends very nicely.

Holes

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Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

My granddaughter feels discouraged when handed a chapter book to read. She loves a good story--when it is a shared experience. We live in a rural area--no bookstores close. She needed to finish Holes over the weekend to complete a school assignment. Audible let me download a professional reader for the book. Kindle gave me the opportunity to download the text.

My granddaughter is good to follow the text while the audiobook is read. I can continue to work in the same room while she listens. We stop the book at critical points to talk about what is happening in the plot, the conflict between characters, and to predict what might happen next. It's a win-win way to share a story and help her with her reading. No tears. The result of this reading strategy has been a hundred percent on comprehension tests for school assignments and improvement in her reading fluency. We're still working on independent reading stamina but that is improving, too.

When she was reading Holes alone, the three plot lines confused her. By listening together, I could help her follow the action and understand how the three plots twisted ever more tightly as the story progressed so that the events of the resolution were plausible and understandable. She went from confused to excited about this book and loved it. Watching her progress to more complex reading material is a joy. Holes gave us great discussion points along the way. She is beginning to feel the joy of sharing a book with other readers.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Holes?

One of the moments that made her face light up was when she drew the connection between the name Madame Zeroni and Zero.

Which scene was your favorite?

She loved the part where the yellow spotted lizards were all over Zero and Caveman but did not bite them. She loved the reason why but we won't spoil it here.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

The twists of time.

Any additional comments?

Several years ago, a 6th grade student came to my language arts class excitedly waving the book Holes before him. He handed it to me and said, "This is the best book ever. You've GOT to read it. You can borrow my copy. Please read it!"

Any student that excited over a book deserves to have his request honored. I started the book on a Saturday morning and read straight through to the end because it was too good to put down. We had a wonderful time discussing Holes the next Monday.

Audible + Kindle = Terrific Combination for Holes

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I listen to this every day it is awesome! It is good enough to listen to over and over again! It's defiantly one of my top 10s

Cool

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Hole is a great book to do a class book study on. The audio book helped me to save my voice.

A Teacher

Great Book Study

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I loved the book but it was kind of boring and I almost fell asleep

Review

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Listened to this book in the car with my kids ages 8-13. Very good! We followed it up with a movie night and it was good too!

Kids & Adults enjoyed it!

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The book was very good and well published I say. I couldn’t stop reading it.

Holes review

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It was not a perfect story as all the others on here. Though that could be because of the way it was originally written. The reader was a pretty good job at telling the story and giving each person a different voice.
Even though it wasn't perfect I really enjoyed it and will listen to it again.

The movie might be a smidge better

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Bought the paperback for my 6th grader son and audible book for myself so we can discuss. Enjoyed it deeply.

Superb

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My 5th grade children and I listed to this book while driving in the car. We all loved it. It is a Great family book that lead to several meaningful dinner conversations. Highly recommend.

Awesome!!

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