Best Selling Books by Louis Sachar

This groundbreaking classic is now available in a special anniversary edition with bonus content. Winner of the Newbery Medal as well as the National Book Award, HOLES is a New York Times bestseller and one of the strongest-selling middle-grade books to ever hit shelves! 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. Special anniversary edition bonus content includes: A New Note From the Author!; "Ten Things You May Not Know About HOLES" by Louis Sachar; and more!

Two years after being released from Camp Green Lake, Armpit is home in Austin, Texas, trying to turn his life around. But it’s hard when you have a record, and everyone expects the worst from you. The only person who believes in him is Ginny, his 10-year old disabled neighbour. Together, they are learning to take small steps. And he seems to be on the right path, until X-Ray, a buddy from Camp Green Lake, comes up with a get-rich-quick scheme. This leads to a chance encounter with teen pop sensation, Kaira DeLeon, and suddenly his life spins out of control, with only one thing for certain. He’ll never be the same again. In his first major novel since Holes, critically acclaimed novelist Louis Sachar uses his signature wit combined with a unique blend of adventure and deeply felt characters to explore issues of race, the nature of celebrity, the invisible connections that determine a person’s life, and what it takes to stay on course. Doing the right thing is never a wrong choice – but a small step in the right direction.

The classic novel from Newbery Medalist and National Book Award winner Louis Sachar (Holes), with a brand-new cover! David is only trying to be cool when he helps some of the popular kids steal Old Lady Bayfield’s cane. But when the plan backfires, he’s the one the “old witch” curses. Now David can’t seem to do anything right. The cool kids taunt him and his only friends are freaks. He even walks into Spanish class with his fly unzipped! And when he finally gets up the nerve to ask out a cute girl, his pants fall down in midsentence. Is it the Bayfield curse at work? Or is David simply turning into a total loser?

Two middle-grade kids take a shortcut home from school and discover what looks like fuzzy mud but is actually a substance with the potential to wreak havoc on the entire world.

• AN INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER • AN INDIE NEXT LIST PICK • A LIBRARY READS PICK • The beloved author of Holes presents his first adult novel, a modern fantasy classic of forbidden love, a crumbling kingdom, and the unexpected magic all around us. "After decades of children''s stories with adult intelligence, Sachar has given us an adult novel with a child''s heart"—Alix E. Harrow "Funny, surprising, smart and weird . . . fully lives up to the high bar you’d expect from a great like Sachar."—Associated Press Long ago and far away (and somewhere south of France) lies the kingdom of Esquaveta. There, Princess Tullia is in nearly as much peril as her struggling kingdom. Esquaveta desperately needs to forge an alliance, and to that end, Tullia''s father has arranged a marriage between her and an odious prince. However, one month before the "wedding of the century," Tullia falls in love with a lowly apprentice scribe. The king turns to Anatole, his much-maligned magician. Seventeen years earlier, when Anatole first came to the castle, he was regarded as something of a prodigy. But after a long series of failures—the latest being an attempt to transform sand into gold—he has become the object of contempt and ridicule. The only one who still believes in him is the princess. When the king orders Anatole to brew a potion that will ensure Tullia agrees to the wedding, Anatole is faced with an impossible choice. With one chance to save the marriage, the kingdom, and, of most importance to him, his reputation, will he betray the princess—or risk ruin?

The beloved bestseller from Newbery Medalist and National Book Award winner Louis Sachar (Holes), with a brand-new cover! “Give me a dollar or I’ll spit on you.” That’s Bradley Chalkers for you. He’s the oldest kid in the fifth grade. He tells enormous lies. He picks fights with girls, and the teachers say he has serious behavior problems. No one likes him—except Carla, the new school counselor. She thinks Bradley is sensitive and generous, and she even enjoys his far-fetched stories. Carla knows that Bradley could change, if only he weren’t afraid to try. But when you feel like the most hated kid in the whole school, believing in yourself can be the hardest thing in the world. . . .

Meet the delightfully eccentric and unusually gifted pupils of Wayside School in this instalment of the brilliantly quirky Wayside School series – from Louis Sachar, author of the bestselling novel Holes As recommended on Radio 4 Kids Book Club, August 2024 There has been a terrible mistake. Instead of having thirty classrooms side by side, Wayside School is thirty storeys high! (The builder said he was sorry.) Perhaps that''s why all sorts of strange and unusual things keep happening – especially in Mrs Jewls''s classroom on the very top floor. There''s the terrifying Mrs Gorf, who gets an unusually fruity comeuppance; Terrible Todd, who always gets sent home early; and Mauricia, who has a strange ice-cream addiction. Meanwhile, John can only read upside down, and Leslie is determined to sell her own toes. From top to bottom, Wayside is packed with quirky and hilarious characters who are all brought to life in this new edition with delightful illustrations by Aleksei Bitskoff throughout. This is an unmissable, irrepressible story of mixed-up mayhem from Louis Sachar, the bestselling author of Holes.

From Louis Sachar, New York Times bestselling author and winner of the Newbery Medal for HOLES, comes the young adult novel THE CARDTURNER, an exploration of the human condition. How are we supposed to be partners? He can’t see the cards and I don’t know the rules! The summer after junior year of high school looks bleak for Alton Richards. His girlfriend has dumped him to hook up with his best friend. He has no money and no job. His parents insist that he drive his great-uncle Lester to his bridge club four times a week and be his cardturner—whatever that means. Alton’s uncle is old, blind, very sick, and very rich. But Alton’s parents aren’t the only ones trying to worm their way into Lester Trapp’s good graces. They’re in competition with his longtime housekeeper, his alluring young nurse, and the crazy Castaneda family, who seem to have a mysterious influence over him. Alton soon finds himself intrigued by his uncle, by the game of bridge, and especially by the pretty and shy Toni Castaneda. As the summer goes on, he struggles to figure out what it all means, and ultimately to figure out the meaning of his own life. Through Alton’s wry observations, Louis Sachar explores the disparity between what you know and what you think you know. With his incomparable flair and inventiveness, he examines the elusive differences between perception and reality—and inspires readers to think and think again.

Classic series of pacy adventures rejacketed for a new audience Marvin Redpost has an identity crisis after a rather thought-provoking conversation at school with his friend Casey Happleton.

This chapter book in Newbery Honor–winning and bestselling author Louis Sachar’s Marvin Redpost series is all about daredevils and conquering your fears! Everyone says that Marvin is going to ride his new mountain bike down Suicide Hill. And everyone is coming to watch him do it—his friends, his family, even his older brother. But the truth is, Marvin can’t climb onto the seat without wobbling. And shifting gears? Braking? Forget about it! What’s Marvin going to do? Hilarious and relatable, Marvin Redpost is perfect for kids who love to bond with quirky characters like Junie B. Jones and George Brown, Class Clown.

This sidesplitting chapter book in Newbery Honor–winning and bestselling author Louis Sachar’s Marvin Redpost series takes on rumors and teasing. There’s a rumor at school that Marvin Redpost picks his nose. Clarence started it, and now everyone believes it. Even Marvin’s friends are embarrassed to be seen with him! Can Marvin figure out how to change everyone’s mind? Or is he doomed to be teased forever? Hilarious and relatable, Marvin Redpost is perfect for kids who love to bond with quirky characters like Junie B. Jones and George Brown, Class Clown.

This chapter book in Newbery Honor–winning and bestselling author Louis Sachar’s Marvin Redpost series shows what happens when Marvin gets his first job. Marvin is really excited to take care of his teacher’s dog while she’s away. He’ll even earn a bonus if he does a good job! And he gets to be alone in his teacher’s house! But when Mrs. North’s dog starts to look sick, Marvin isn’t sure he’ll get that bonus. In fact, Mrs. North may never talk to Marvin again! Hilarious and relatable, Marvin Redpost is perfect for kids who love to bond with quirky characters like Junie B. Jones and George Brown, Class Clown.

''Why did the guy eat two dead skunks for breakfast?'' ''Because dead ones squeal when you stick the fork in.'' Gary W. Boone knows he was born to be a stand-up comedian. It is the rest of the kids in the class who think he is a fool. Then the Floyd Hicks Junior High School Talent Show is announced, and he starts practising his routine non-stop to get it just right. Gary''s sure that this will be his big break - he''ll make everyone laugh and will win the $100 prize money. But when an outrageous surprise threatens to turn his debut into a disaster, it looks as if the biggest joke of all may be on Gary himself.

For use in schools and libraries only. Don''t miss the fun at Wayside School--an elementary school with supernatural elements--built with one classroom on top of another, thirty stories high.

The Haunting of Lamb House

As an eight-year-old genius in the sixth grade, Angeline is not too popular, but she tries to adjust to being different.

Marvin''s teacher asks him to take care of her dog while she''s away. "Aside from being resoundingly funny, Sachar has a rare honesty about what children really encounter in the world." --The Bulletin of the Center for Children''s Books