When I was doing a higher level reading group last year with some of my students, they chose to read the book Holes by Louis Sachar and compare it to the movie.
Most of the students had already seen the movie, so I told them try not to compare the two just yet, read the book with an open mind. To my surprise when we finished the novel, most of the children said they enjoyed the book much more than the movie!
The book begins by young Stanley Yelnats IV being sentenced to a boys camp, Camp Green Lake for supposedly stealing a pair of Clyde Livingstons tennis shoes. While at the camp, Stanley and his camp mates are sentenced to dig holes to help build their character. After much digging, they find out the real reason they are digging holes is to find the treasure left by Kissin' Kate Barlow. As the story unfolds, Stanley and his silent friend Zero decide to run away. While running away, Zero becomes very sick and Stanley stays by his side and sings to him his family's lullaby. While singing, the generations of cursing that has been put on the Yelnats family is broken. Stanley and Zero decided to head back to Camp Green Lake. While there, they find the buried treasure, but it is surrounded by the deadly lizards that took Kissin' Kate Barlow's life. Thankfully, the scent of the magical onions turn the lizards away and the treasure belongs to the Yelnats family.
The book begins by young Stanley Yelnats IV being sentenced to a boys camp, Camp Green Lake for supposedly stealing a pair of Clyde Livingstons tennis shoes. While at the camp, Stanley and his camp mates are sentenced to dig holes to help build their character. After much digging, they find out the real reason they are digging holes is to find the treasure left by Kissin' Kate Barlow. As the story unfolds, Stanley and his silent friend Zero decide to run away. While running away, Zero becomes very sick and Stanley stays by his side and sings to him his family's lullaby. While singing, the generations of cursing that has been put on the Yelnats family is broken. Stanley and Zero decided to head back to Camp Green Lake. While there, they find the buried treasure, but it is surrounded by the deadly lizards that took Kissin' Kate Barlow's life. Thankfully, the scent of the magical onions turn the lizards away and the treasure belongs to the Yelnats family.
The movie, much like the novel does a great job portraying the characters as you would envision in the novel. One major difference in the book vs the movie was the fact that the main character in the book was teased for being overweight. In the movie, Shia LaBeouf is actually very skinny. In the book, some of the story lines were more elaborated, such as discussing the Yelnats family curse. Overall this another case where I enjoyed the book more than the movie. Although the movie was a wonderful adaptation of the novel, I love the creativity that you can play with as you are reading the novel.
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