Sachar << SAK uhr, >> Louis (1954-…), is an American children’s author. He won the 1999 Newbery Medal for his novel Holes (1998). The Newbery Medal is an annual award given to the best children’s book written by an American. In 1998, the book received the National Book Foundation’s National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. Sachar has been praised for his humor and realistic dialogue. He has also been praised for his thoughtful and sensitive treatment of human relationships and troubling situations.
Holes tells the story of young Stanley Yelnats, who is wrongly convicted of stealing a pair of sneakers. He is sent to a camp in Texas for delinquent boys. There, the camp’s harsh female warden assigns Stanley and other boys in the camp to dig holes 5 feet (1.5 meters) deep in a dry lake bed. Stanley soon realizes that the boys are digging holes because the warden is searching for something. Critics and readers have praised Holes for its special blend of social commentary, odd humor, suspense, and folklore. A motion-picture version of Holes was released in 2003. Sachar also wrote Small Steps (2006), a sequel to Holes.
Sachar first gained recognition for his offbeat, humorous “Wayside School” series. The series tells about about the students and teachers in a school that was supposed to have 30 classrooms on one floor but by mistake was built straight up 30 stories. The series began with Sideways Stories from Wayside School (1978). It was based on the author’s own experiences as an elementary school teacher’s aide. Other books in the series include Wayside School Is Falling Down (1989), Sideways Arithmetic from Wayside School (1989), Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger (1995), and Wayside School Beneath the Cloud of Doom (2020).
Sachar is also known for the “Marvin Redpost” series for beginning readers. The books center on the humorous school adventures of 9-year-old Marvin Redpost. The first book in the series was Marvin Redpost: Kidnapped at Birth? (1992). Others include Marvin Redpost: Alone in His Teacher’s House (1994) and Marvin Redpost: Super Fast, Out of Control! (2000).
Sachar wrote There’s a Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom (1987). It follows the relationship between a school bully, his new friend, and a school counselor. Sachar’s other novels include Johnny’s in the Basement (1981), Someday Angeline (1983), Sixth Grade Secrets (1987), The Boy Who Lost His Face (1989), The Cardturner (2010), and Fuzzy Mud (2015). Sachar also wrote the picture book Monkey Soup (1992).
Sachar was born on March 20, 1954, in East Meadow, New York. He grew up in Orange County, California. He received a B.A. degree in economics from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1976. He also earned a law degree from the University of California, San Francisco, in 1980. Sachar practiced law part-time from 1981 to 1989 before becoming a full-time children’s writer.
