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Louis Sachar

ルイス・サッカー

Ruisu Sakkā

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1954-03-20 （East Meadow, New York, U.S.）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Religion
Judaism
Residence History
East Meadow, New York (birthplace) → Tustin, California (education / youth) → Connecticut (worked while writing early books)

Career

Occupations
Author (children's/young-adult), Screenwriter
Active Years
1976-

Education

Antioch College
Period: 1学期在籍
Country: United States
Attended for one semester before transferring to UC Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
Economics
Degree: BA
Period: 1970年代中盤
Year of Graduation: 1976
Country: United States
Worked at an elementary school for college credit; early influence on writing
University of California, Hastings College of the Law
Law
Degree: JD
Period: 1977–1980頃
Year of Graduation: 1980
Country: United States
Did part-time legal work while continuing to write

Awards

National Book Award for Young People's Literature
1998
Work: Holes
Category: Young People's Literature
Organization: National Book Foundation
Result: Winner
Newbery Medal
1999
Work: Holes
Category: 児童文学
Organization: Association for Library Service to Children (ALA)
Result: Winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Holes

1998 Children's / Young-adult mystery-comedy 233 pages

Stanley Yelnats is sent to a juvenile detention camp where he must dig holes; as the story unfolds, the camp's mysteries, his family's cursed past, and themes of fate and justice are revealed with humor and poignancy.

fate and destinyfriendshipjustice and redemption
Adaptations
  • [Film] Holes (film) / Andrew Davis (2003)
Translations
  • Japanese translation 'Holes'

Wayside School (series)

1978 Children's fiction / surreal comedy 200 pages

A series of short, surreal, comedic episodes set in an unusual elementary school; combines humor and nonsense seen through a child's perspective.

school lifenonsensical humorimagination
Adaptations
  • [Television (animated)] Wayside (TV series) (2007)
  • [Direct-to-video special] Wayside: The Movie (direct-to-video special) (2005)

Small Steps

2006 Young-adult fiction 224 pages

A spinoff of Holes that follows one of the characters after the events of the original novel, focusing on growth and the challenges of adolescence.

rehabilitation and growthresponsibilityfriendship

Johnny's in the Basement

1981 Children's fiction 160 pages

Follows a boy who spends time in his basement, humorously exploring childhood freedom and family relationships.

family and independencechild's perspective

Bibliography

  • Sideways Stories from Wayside School (1978)
  • Wayside School Is Falling Down (1989)
  • Johnny's in the Basement (1981)
  • There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom (1987)
  • Holes (1998)
  • Small Steps (2006)
  • Fuzzy Mud (2015)

Adaptations

  • Holes (2003 film, screenplay by Louis Sachar)
  • Wayside (TV animated series, 2007)

Translations of Works

  • Holes (Japanese translation)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Concise, approachable narration with humor and satirePacing and metaphors suited to children's and young-adult audiences
Recurring Motifs
school and classroom lifefate and intergenerational connectionsfriendship and rehabilitation

Legacy

Louis Sachar won the National Book Award and the Newbery Medal for Holes, and has had a significant impact on children's literature since the 1990s. His blend of humor and substantial themes is widely appreciated by readers and educators.

In Popular Culture

  • The 2003 film adaptation of Holes was commercially successful and greatly raised the profile of the work.

Quotes

  • "I've actually been writing since 1976, and my first book is still in print and doing very well. So, no, I don't think kids have changed."
    Source: Interview, All Things Considered (2015) (2015)

Trivia

  • Holes won the 1998 National Book Award (Young People's Literature).
  • Holes won the 1999 Newbery Medal.
  • Sachar has a cameo appearance in the 2003 film adaptation of Holes.
  • Early in his writing career he worked in a Connecticut sweater warehouse and wrote at night.