HOLES
Reading Guides
Each Digital Download Includes:
- Student Reading Guide- chapter guided worksheets with comprehension questions, creative reflections, chapter activities, vocabulary/glossary if applicable and historical content page if applicable.
- Teacher Guides- includes book summary, sensitive content note, suggested reading age, grading rubric, sample answers, extension questions/projects.
Each guide may differ in structure, depth, and style depending on the content of the book.
Holes by Louis Sachar is a clever and funny middle grade novel about Stanley Yelnats, a boy who is wrongly sent to a brutal juvenile detention camp called Camp Green Lake. Every day, Stanley and the other boys are forced to dig holes in the desert, supposedly to “build character,” but Stanley begins to suspect the warden is really searching for something buried long ago.
The book blends mystery, humor, friendship, family curses, justice, survival, and buried secrets. It has that “desert punishment camp turns into a treasure hunt with generational weirdness baked in” feeling. 🕳️
Best fit: Readers ages 9–13, especially kids who enjoy mystery, humor, adventure, realistic fiction with quirky twists, underdog characters, and stories where past and present connect. Great for classroom discussions about justice, friendship, fate, family history, and perseverance.
Content note: Includes bullying, harsh punishment, dehydration, racism/historical injustice, family hardship, mild violence, and danger, but it is written in a middle grade-friendly style.