Sixth Grade Secrets [Paperback]

Louis Sachar (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Scholastic (1992)
• ASIN: B001UPK5DG
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)

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

24 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Pigheaded? Not at all!, February 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Sixth Grade Secrets (Paperback)

Laura Sibbie and her friends start a club called Pig City, after the hat Laura bought at a garage sale. This is kept secret, and each girl has to have a type of insurance, whether it is calling up a boy, admitting love to a teacher, or if admitting her parents take pictures of her in the bathtub. If they tell anyone about Pig City, the insurance will be shown or told all over school. Later, Laura decides to allow Gabriel, a boy in her class, to join Pig City. His insurance, kissing her, does not work out right. Instead, he starts his own club, Monkey Town. Laura fights mad- and writes on the board every "pig" word she can find. But sooner or later, she has to copy 16 dictionary pages (a type of punishment). But things go bad when Gabriel steals the girls' insurances, and shows them around school. Gabriel also gets back by cutting Laura's waist-length long hair, that she's never had cut since she was three. Sixth grade is soon over, but not the Monkey Town-Pig City war! Read this book if you want to read something funny.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Book, May 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Sixth Grade Secrets (Apple Paperbacks) (Mass Market Paperback)

I think this is a great book. Laura starts a secret club and invites people to join (in secret). A classmate, Gabriel, overhears something about the club (Pig City) and wants to join. Laura invites him over and he's very easygoing, or so it seems. But when his "insurance" goes all wrong, he gets revenge by starting his own club (Monkey Town) and gettting revenge in lots of ways! Read the books!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sixth Grade Secrets, March 25, 2004

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Sixth Grade Secrets (Apple Paperbacks) (Mass Market Paperback)

Sixth Grade Secrets
By: Louis Sachar
Reviewed By: P.Kim
Period 6

Sixth Grade secrets is about a club that was started by a girl named Laura that was originated ever since she bought a cap from a garage sale that said Pig City on it. Pig City was a secret club and in order to join Pig City you needed to give insurance. Insurance like a big secret from someone. Everything was going as planned until a boy named Gabriel starts a new club to get revenge on Pig City ever since he was rejected. He names the club Monkey town and gives Pig City a spin.

This book is very humorous and makes the reader keep reading word after word until their eyes pop out. The author knows the life of a child and is able to write a great book to get young readers attracted. I like this book because it has a type of humor that is very rare to read.

These are some of my favorite quotes in the book: "Eat a raw egg." And "Kiss me or I will tell everyone about Pig City." I like these quotes because these quotes gave me an urge to keep reading.

My favorite part in the book is when a person gives insurance that was made up by Laura. Insurances like a big secret, a love letter and more. This is my favorite part because each insurance is different and give another style of humor.