The Hole Story of the Doughnut

K-Gr 3—This surprising account of the invention of the doughnut introduces readers to master mariner Hanson Crockett Gregory from Rockport, ME. As a young ship's cook in 1847, Gregory prepared the standard breakfast of balls of fried sweet dough. The sailors called them "sinkers" because although the dough fried up crisp and sweet around the edges, "their raw centers, heavy with grease, made them drop like cannonballs in the stomach." Gregory had a better idea and shaped a new batch by cutting holes in the center of each sinker and then frying them in boiling lard. The doughnut was born. Although Hanson went on to become a ship's captain and was awarded a medal for heroism for his actions at sea, his legacy is his delicious creation. This book relates some of the many colorful legends that have surrounded the origins of this sweet treat over the years. The short, humorous text delivers facts that young children will appreciate, while keeping the interest of the more mature. Kirsch has admirably complemented the story with bright, cartoonlike illustrations that evoke the history and the humor of the tale. Clever "porthole," or "doughnut hole," borders frame each page. Whimsically, the artist has placed doughnuts throughout, from the endpapers, which include several varieties, to the back cover, which features an octopus holding a doughnut on each arm.