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How to pronounce Louis Sachar: loo-is sack-er (rhymes with cracker)
Louis Sachar is the bestselling author of the award-winning novel Holes, as well as
Stanley Yelnats’ Survival Guide to Camp Green Lake, There’s a Boy in the Girls’
Bathroom, Dogs Don’t Tell Jokes, and the Marvin Redpost series, among many other books.
He was born March 20, 1954, in East Meadow, New York. His father worked on the
78th floor of the Empire State Building. When he was nine, his family moved to Tustin,
California.
He attended the University of California, at Berkeley. During his last
year there, he helped out at an elementary school–Hillside School, an experience that inspired his first book, Sideways Stories from Wayside School.
He attended Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco and graduated in 1980.
He worked part-time as a lawyer for eight years as he continued to write
children's books. He lives in Austin, Texas with his family.
Louis Sachar's website
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Of all the characters from Holes, why did you choose to revisit Armpit in Small Steps?
I tend to write about underdogs. It seemed to me that life would be tough for an African-American teenager from a low-income family with a criminal record. Especially someone stuck with the name, "Armpit."
Although this new book is about a character from Holes, the two books are very different. How would you explain to a fan of Holes what to expect from Small Steps?
I can't. I'm no good at describing my books. Holes has been out now for seven years, and I still can't come up with a good answer when asked what that book is about.
Could you imagine future novels about any of the other boys? Do you think about what Stanley is up to now?
I don't think too much about Stanley or Zero. I left them in a good place. Although money doesn't bring happiness, or give meaning to someone's life, the problems Stanley and Zero face now (and I'm sure they do face many problems) are less interesting than those faced by someone like Armpit.
Plenty of teenagers fantasize about what it would be like to be a young rock star. You portray it as lonely. Tell us about that decision.
The media tends to portray the ...
Sherman J. Alexie, Jr., was born in October 1966. A Spokane/Coeur d'Alene Indian, he grew up on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Wellpinit, Washington, about 50 miles northwest of Spokane. Approximately 1,100 Spokane Tribal ... (more)
If you enjoyed:
Small Steps
Try:
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
by Sherman Alexie
Josh Berk is the author of The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin (Knopf 2010), named a best book for teens of 2010 by Kirkus Reviews and Amazon.com. It was also awarded a Parent's Choice Silver medal, a starred review from School... (more)
If you enjoyed:
Small Steps
Try:
The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin
by Josh Berk
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