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{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
| name = Louis Sachar
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| caption = Louis Sachar at the Texas Book Festival, 2006.
| caption = Louis Sachar at the Texas Book Festival, 2006.
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'
'''Louis Sachar''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|æ|k|ər}} {{respell|SAK|ər}}; born March 20, 1954) is an American [[author]] of [[children's literature|children's books]]. He is best known for the series ''[[Sideways Stories From Wayside School]]'' and for the novels Pig City and ''[[Holes (novel)|Holes]]'' which he has followed with two companion novels.

''Holes'' won the 1998 U.S. [[National Book Award for Young People's Literature]]<ref name=nba1998>
''Holes'' won the 1998 U.S. [[National Book Award for Young People's Literature]]<ref name=nba1998>
[http://www.nationalbook.org/nba1998.html "National Book Awards – 1998"]. [[National Book Foundation]]. Retrieved 2012-01-26. <br>(With acceptance speech by Sachar.)</ref>
[http://www.nationalbook.org/nba1998.html "National Book Awards – 1998"]. [[National Book Foundation]]. Retrieved 2012-01-26. <br>(With acceptance speech by Sachar.)</ref>

Revision as of 00:09, 31 January 2014

Baby
Louis Sachar at the Texas Book Festival, 2006.
Louis Sachar at the Texas Book Festival, 2006.
Born (1954-03-20) March 20, 1954 (age 70)
East Meadow, New York, U.S.
OccupationAuthor
Alma materUniversity of California, Berkeley
Hastings College of the Law
GenreChildren's literature
SpouseCarla Askew (1 child)
Website
http://www.louissachar.com

' Holes won the 1998 U.S. National Book Award for Young People's Literature[1] and the 1999 Newbery Medal for the year's "most distinguished contribution to American literature for children".[2]

Biography

After graduating from high school, Sachar attended Antioch College for a semester before transferring to University of California, Berkeley, during which time he began working at an elementary school to earn college credit.[3] Sachar later recalled,

I thought it over and decided it was a pretty good deal. College credits, no homework, no term papers, no tests, all I had to do was help out in a second/third grade class at Hillside Elementary School. Besides helping out in a classroom, I also became the Noontime Supervisor, or "Louis the Yard Teacher" as I was known to the kids. It became my favorite college class, and a life changing experience.[3]

Sachar graduated from UC Berkeley in 1976 with a degree in Economics, and began working on Sideways Stories From Wayside School, a children's book set at an elementary school with supernatural elements. Although the book's students were named after children from Hillside and there is a presumably autobiographical character named "Louis the Yard Teacher,"[3] Sachar has said that he draws very little from personal experience, explaining that "....my personal experiences are kind of boring. I have to make up what I put in my books."[4]

Sachar wrote the book at night over the course of nine months, during which he worked during the day in a Connecticut sweater warehouse.[3] After being fired from the warehouse, Sachar decided to go to law school, around which time Sideways Stories From Wayside School was accepted for publication. The book was released in 1978; though it was not widely distributed and subsequently did not sell very well, Sachar began to accumulate a fan base among young readers.[5] Sachar graduated from University of California, Hastings College of the Law in 1980 and did part-time legal work while continuing to write children's books.[6] By 1989, his books were selling well enough that Sachar was able to begin writing full-time.[3]

Sachar married Carla Askew,[7] an elementary school counselor, in 1985. They live in Austin, Texas, and have a daughter, Sherre (b. January 19, 1987). Sachar has referenced both his wife and daughter in his books; Carla was the inspiration for the counselor in There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom (1988),[3] and Stanley's lawyer in Holes.

Works

Sideways Stories From Wayside School
Marvin Redpost
  • Kidnapped at Birth? (1992)
  • Why Pick on Me? (1993)
  • Is He a Girl? (1993)
  • Alone In His Teacher's House (1994)
  • Class President(1999)
  • A Flying Birthday Cake? (1999)
  • Super Fast Out of Control! (2000)
  • A Magic Crystal? (2000)
Holes series
Other books

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "National Book Awards – 1998". National Book Foundation. Retrieved 2012-01-26.
    (With acceptance speech by Sachar.)
  2. ^ a b "Newbery Medal and Honor Books, 1922–Present". Association for Library Service to Children. (ALSC). American Library Association (ALA).
      "The John Newbery Medal". ALSC. ALA. Retrieved 2012-03-26.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Author Bio", Louis Sachar (louissachar.com), 2005. Retrieved 2007-07-14.
  4. ^ "Louis Sachar Interview Transcript", Scholastic.com, 2006-02-23. Retrieved 2007-07-18.
  5. ^ Strickland, Barbara. "Louis Sachar: Top of His Class", The Austin Chronicle 18.26, 1999-02-26. Retrieved 2007-07-24.
  6. ^ Goodnow, Cecelia. "Author Louis Sachar returns with a spinoff of his kids classic, 'Holes'", Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 2006-01-10. Retrieved 2007-07-24.
  7. ^ http://www.mcelmeel.com/writing/sachar.html
  8. ^ "Pig City by Louis Sachar". The Bookbag. 2009-10-24. Retrieved 2009-05-27.

External links

Template:Persondata

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