Winner of the 1999 Newbery Medal
Well, I can't imagine that you haven't heard of this one or at least seen the movie. But for anyone who hasn't read this, just go get it. When kids come in dragging their heels with the assignment to read a Newbery winner, this is the Newbery winner they just might like. The inmates at Camp Green Lake, a juvenile detention facility in the Texas desert, are digging holes
Recommended by: Barb Langridge, abookandahug.com
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Winner of the Newbery Medal and the National Book Award! This #1 New York Times bestseller is a modern classic that will remind readers that adventure is right around the corner--or just under your feet!
Stanley Yelnats is under a curse. A curse that began with his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather and has since followed generations of Yelnatses. Now Stanley has been unjustly sent to a boys’ detention center, Camp Green Lake, where the boys build character by spending all day, every day digging holes exactly five feet wide and five feet deep. There is no lake at Camp Green Lake. But there are an awful lot of holes.
It doesn’t take long for Stanley to realize there’s more than character improvement going on at Camp Green Lake. The boys are digging holes because the warden is looking for something. But what could be buried under a dried-up lake? Stanley tries to dig up the truth in this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment—and redemption.---from the publisher
Keywords: adventure, juvenile detention, working together, humor, crime, 8 year old, 9 year old, 10 year old, 11 year old, 12 year old, Newbery Medal
Sequel: Small Steps