The Hole Story

Gr 2-4–Charlie finds a hole. He picks it up! Perhaps it fell off an Acme truck straight out of a Looney Tunes cartoon, for what follows are a “hole” lot of shenanigans as Charlie attempts to get rid of the hole. No one wants it—not tailor, nor pet shop owner, nor doughnut maker. They all have enough holes or are trying to get rid of the holes they already have. The story is light and zany but does not reach for metaphysical events like other “hole” stories do, as in Mac Barnett’s Sam and Dave Dig a Hole. Canby plays with text on the page and uses bold font for emphasis, making this a good read-together story or a lightly challenging one for beginning readers. Her watercolor artwork is charming. The splashy color palette is limited and pleasing. Charlie has gray skin, but others have pink, white, brown, gray, and other tones.