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Johnny's in the Basement

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Johnny's in the Basement
First p/b edition
AuthorLouis Sachar
LanguageEnglish
PublisherKnopf (h/b)
Avon Books (p/b)
Publication date
1981
Publication placeUnited States
Pages128
ISBN0-679-90411-5

Johnny's in the Basement is a children's novel by the author Louis Sachar, the author of the National Book Award and Newbery Medal winning novel, Holes.[1] This book was published in 1981, by Knopf. It is Sachar's second book (Sideways Stories from Wayside School was his first, in 1978).[2] The book's title is a reference to the song "Subterranean Homesick Blues" by Bob Dylan, which begins with the line "Johnny's in the basement mixing up the medicine."

Reception

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The book remained popular for many years.[3][4] According to WorldCat, the book is held in 446 libraries.[5]

Reviewers consider the book "full of sly humor",[6] and "another corker"[7] It is also described as "a preadolescent way to show contempt for adults' exploitation."[8] A film named Johnny's in the Basement was planned, but it was canceled on May 2, 2003.

Plot summary

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Johnny, who has just turned 11 years old, goes in the basement where nobody bothers him. His parents want him to grow up and go to dance class.[9] They also want Johnny to get rid of his bottle cap collection. At dance class Johnny meets a girl named Valerie who also hates dance class, but likes Johnny. Johnny sells his bottle cap collection, and he and Valerie spend the $86.33 they receive for it on miscellaneous impractical items.

References

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  1. ^ Bernice E. Cullinan, Diane Goetz Person, "Sachar" Continuum Encyclopedia of Children's Literature New York : Continuum, 2005 Google Books excerpt
  2. ^ "Johnny's in the Basement by Louis Sachar". www.fantasticfiction.com.
  3. ^ Barbara Strickland, "Louis Sachar: Top of His Class" Austin Chronicle Feb 20, 1999 [1]
  4. ^ Jean Nash Johnson, "The kids dig him" Dallas Morning News February 9, 2003 Newsbank
  5. ^ Sachar, Louis (August 16, 1990). Johnny's in the basement. Knopf : Distributed by Random House. OCLC 20755845 – via Open WorldCat.
  6. ^ Joan McGrath, Emergency Librarian, cited in: "Louis Sachar, Biographical Essay," Authors and Artists for Young Adults, Volume 35. Gale Group, 2000. access from Dec 27 2013 archive.org version of the original on Austin Public Library
  7. ^ Publishers Weekly, cited in: "Louis Sacher, Biographical Essay," Authors and Artists for Young Adults, Volume 35. Gale Group, 2000. access from Dec 27 2013 archive.org version of the original on Austin Public Library
  8. ^ Jack Forman, School Library Journal, cited in: "Louis Sacher, Biographical Essay," Authors and Artists for Young Adults, Volume 35. Gale Group, 2000. access from Dec 27 2013 archive.org version of the original on Austin Public Library
  9. ^ "Louis Sachar - Complete Booklist". Archived from the original on 2015-10-05. Retrieved 2017-11-05.