Johnny's in the Basement [Hardcover]

Louis Sachar (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 19, 1990

When Johnny has his eleventh birthday, his parents decide he is old enough for dancing classes, but too old to collect bottle caps any more.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Lois Sachar, best-selling author of the Wayside School series, knows how to make kids laugh. And there are laughs galore in this popular book, now available again in hardcover. Meet Johnny, who refuses to grow up if it means giving up his world-famous bottle cap collection. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

When Louis Sachar was going to school, his teachers always pronounced his name wrong.Now that he has become a popular author of children's books, teachers all over the country are pronouncing his name wrong.It should be pronounced Sacker, like someone who tackles quarterbacks or someone who stuffs potatoes into sacks.

Mr. Sachar received a B.A. in economics from the University of California at Berkeley.His first book, Sideways Stories from Wayside School, was accepted for publication during his first year of law school.After receiving his law degree, he spent six years asking himself whether he wanted to be an author or a lawyer before deciding to write for children full-time.His books include Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger, There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom, Wayside School is Falling Down, Dogs Don't Tell Jokes, and the Marvin Redpost series.

Louis Sachar lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife and their daughter, Sherre. In His Oen Words...

"One thing I would like to know from my favorite authors is who their favorite authors are. So I will begin there. My favorite authors (not necessarily in order) are: E. L. Doctorow; J. D. Salinger; Kurt Vonnegut; Dostoyevski; Tolstoy; Flannery O'Connor; Kinky Friedman; Rex Stout; E. B. White; William Saroyan; John Steinbeck; Dr. Seuss. These are mostly adult authors, which is only fitting, since I am mostly an adult.

"I was horn in East Meadow, New York. My father worked on the seventy-eighth floor of the Empire State Building, which I thought was pretty cool. We moved to Tustin, California, when I was nine, not too far from Disneyland.

"I wrote my first children's story as part of a creative writing assignment in high school. That story was called "Apple Power" and was about a mean teacher named Mrs. Gorf who turned her students into apples. My teacher didn't think that I had taken the assignment seriously and suggested I write something else.

"During my last year of college at the University of California at Berkeley, I worked part-time at a nearby elementary school--Hillside School. I got college credit for being a teacher's aide, and I was paid two dollars an hour to watch over the kids on the playground. My official title was Noontime Supervisor, but the kids called me Louis the yard teacher.

"After graduating from college I wrote Sideways Stories from Wayside School. The kids in the book are named after the kids I knew at Hillside, and, of course, Louis the yard teacher is in there, too.

"I went to law school in San Francisco a year later, and the book was published during my second year. When I graduated in 1980, I had to make the difficult choice between writing and practicing law. I knew I could make a good living practicing law, but I chose to write because it was what I liked to do.

"I met Carla in 1981 while visiting a school in Texas. She was the school counselor and became the inspiration behind the character (also a counselor named Carla) in There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom. When I wrote the book, I didn't know I'd end up marrying her.

"We were married in 1985, and our daughter, Sherre, was horn in 1987. In 1990 we moved from San Francisco to Austin, Texas. We have a dog named Lucky. In my spare time I like to play duplicate bridge." --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers (May 19, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679904115
• ISBN-13: 978-0679904113
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,244,489 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

author spotlight
Newbery Award-winning author Louis Sachar is the creator of the entertaining Marvin Redpost books as well as the much-loved There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom, winner of 17 child-voted state awards.

Louis Sachar's book Holes, winner of the 1999 Newbery Medal, the National Book Award, and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, is also an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, an ALA Quick Pick, an ALA Notable Book, and was made into a major motion picture.

A Few Words From Louis Sachar
Of all the characters from Holes, why did you choose to revisit Armpit in SMALL STEPS?
LS: 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?
LS: 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?
LS: 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.
LS: The media tends to portray the teenage world as one where drinking and sex is taken for granted. In fact, I think most teenagers don't drink, are unsure of themselves, and feel awkward around members of the opposite sex. I thought it was important to show Kaira, a rock star no less, as such a person. Her situation, in many ways, is made more difficult as she has no social contact with anyone her age. She is trapped in a world of agents, record producers, and hanger-ons.
I'm imagining that off all the books you've written, Holes is the one that has changed your life the most. Not only did it win the Newbery Medal, it's also simply a popular sensation. Is this assessment accurate? What is this novel's continuing impact on your life? Would you consider it the book that you are proudest of?
LS: Not counting Small Steps, I think Holes is my best book, in terms of plot, and setting, and the way the story revealed itself. It hasn't changed my life, other than that I have more money than I did before I wrote it. I'm still too close to Small Steps to compare it to Holes.
Why do you typically write only two hours each day?
LS: Small steps. Every time I start a new novel it seems like an impossible undertaking. If I tried to do too much too quickly, I would get lost and feel overwhelmed. I have to go slow, and give things a chance to take form and grow.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun story about pre-adolescent angst, January 16, 2004

By 

P.W. Reader (Mountain View, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Johnny's in the Basement (Paperback)

Louis Sachar demonstrates genius in this book by drawing a very fine and distinct line between childhood and adulthood from the parents' point of view. From protagonist Johnny's point of view, it is not as clear-cut.

Johnny wants nothing more than to be grown-up the way all kids do. But reality isn't quite as pretty. Sure, they give him a later bedtime, but when you have to spend that extra time before bed washing dishes and doing chores, it's not quite the same. Nor are his "adult" birthday gifts (aka boring stuff that he'd never use, except for dance lessons he cannot avoid). On top of that, the silly parents make him get rid of his life collection of bottle caps.

In addition, he begins to discover his new feelings for girls when he meets young Valerie...a girl smarter than all the rest of her family put together, who likes Johnny for a very special and unique reason. And knows how to say JUST the right things to make him feel good.

Johnny's conversations with the moon also add an interesting twist.

The little sister Christine fits in just dandy in the story, making all of Johnny's little annoyances that much worse.

The one gripe I have about this book is the author's casual treatment of the kids smoking cigarettes. When Johnny discovers them and gets to the point where he can smoke without coughing up a storm, it's just too easy for him to quit and condemn it without a real reason. He describes his smoking as "to feel nothing, to not have the pain" without getting into the seriousness of how addictive it can be.

9 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A GREAT AUTHOR, THE BOOK IS GOOD TOO, July 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Johnny's in the Basement (Paperback)

Louis Sachar is a great author, and "Jonny in the basement" is good too. Not his best, but it is excellent. I'd have to congratulate Louis for all his success. Congratulations! And to anyone who wants to read this, do, it's a good book.