The Hole in the Middle by Paul Budnitz

The Hole in the Middle Reviews

• 
  Jon Nakapalau

  Kind of Buddhist in tone; the hole that can never be filled is filled only when we stop trying to fill it with our desires.
• 
  Angela

  The illustrations are truely remarkable. Another uber-talented Brooklyn picture book artist breaks onto the scene.
  
  A boy discovers that when he directs his efforts and concerns toward others (rather than himself), his empty feelings fade away. The story was nice, but couldn't quite draw my attention away from the pictures.
  
  For a similar story that was a touch more mesmerizing for me, I recommend The Heart in the Bottle by Oliver Jeffers.
• 
  Donalyn

  A boy named Morgan has a hole in his middle, which he can never fill. His friend, Yumi, tries to help Morgan by cooking for him, singing and dancing with him, and playing with him, but nothing works. When Yumi gets sick, Morgan finds the secret that fills his emptiness. I thought the message was a good one, but reading a book about a boy with a literal hole in his middle made me uncomfortable. A strange book.
• 
  carissa

  Morgan was born with a big hole through his middle that gives him a strange, empty feeling all of the time, but when his good friend Yumi becomes ill, he finds that helping her makes him feel whole.
  
• 
  Stacia Leigh

  I loved this book! The illustrations are absolutely adorable and fun. We followed the pet cat throughout to see what antics he was up to as the story progressed.
  
  The theme was so unique and interesting that I could see reading this again and again...shelf worthy for sure!
• 
  Sydney Huntington-Strohm

  This book is about a boy named Morgan who deals with feeling he has something missing. He had an empty feeling for a while and felt as if nothing could fill it. The lesson in the book is no matter how empty and bad you feel work to find things that make you feel whole and happy. That is the best message of them all. I would recommend this book to fourth grade to teach them it is ok to not be ok. Just embrace how you feel. The illustrations do a very good job of showing that with Morgan the little boy.
• 
  Julia Reny

  I loved this picture book for many reasons. The illustrations were truly remarkable- filled with a variety of colors and shapes. The story was initially filled with lonely Morgan, who was born with a big hole in his middle. However, as the story progressed his hole became filled when he became a best friend to Yumi. The togetherness he had with Yumi filled his whole, when nothing else would. Overall, this book was adorable and I highly recommend it.
• 
  Lindsey Adams

  This book is so cute! A little boy and girl become friends, but the little boy is worried about his "hole in the middle". Yumi, his friend, tries to help him make it go away. Once she gets sick, Morgan worries and bakes her a cake to feel better. He soon forgets about all his worries and emptiness so soon they go away. I thought this was such a cute message to younger kids, the illustrations were so colorful and so fun!
• 
  The Brothers

  Morgan, a little boy born with a gaping hole in his middle, is kind of selfish and never thinks to his friend Yumi who often puts his needs and wants before her own. But when Yumi falls ill, Morgan turns the table and does kind things for her until she feels better. As he stops thinking of himself, the whole in his middle grows smaller.
  
  Illustrations are average.
• 
  Kimberly

  I, an adult reader, understand the point of this book. My children were both mystified. "So was he mean as a baby? That's why he had a hole to start with?" "Where are his organs?" "Why does his shirt have a hole too? Why wouldn't he cover it up?"
  
  So, I dunno, I feel like it lacked a certain something.
• 
  Madi C

  This ones really cute. Theres a boy who has a hole in his middle and he can't get it to go away. This little girl tries to help him. One day she gets sick and he goes and helps her feel better. He forgets all about his middle until one day its small and looks like a belly button.
• 
  Maggie

  This is a great book that is well written and well-illustrated. The illustrations are enticing for the reader both child and adult. This is a great book discussing that people have differences and how positive friendships can change a person's life.
• 
  Jordan Devine

  This book was cute. It was about a boy who had a hole in his stomach. His friend got sick and the more he didn’t think about the hole in his stomach the more it went away. He completely forgot about it and it ended up being his bellybutton
• 
  Emily Riggs

  This is a cute story about filling that empty hole in your belly. This is a great story for kids when they might have a feeling they can't describe. It is also a cute way to show that helping others may help fill your empty hole.
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  Jenna Hanoian

  I LOVED the illustrations, the message behind the book was very cute as well, overall great book.
• 
  Kaley Coburn

  This story brings in the aspect of feeling empty and how that feeling can shrink when helping other in a fictional way that students are more apt to understand. This book could be used in grades K and up but could be a confusing subject for younger ages. I would bring this into my classroom when teaching students about helping each other. It can make us feel good when we help others. I could also use it to normalize the feeling of not being happy because not everyone is happy all the time and that is okay. The book does include the issue of diversity through incorporating characters of different cultures.
• 
  Amanda Lacusky

  This story is about a young boy, Morgan, who was born with a big hole through his stomach. Throughout the book, he has a friend named Yumi that tries to help him fill the emptiness. She tries to do everything she can to help him feel better. Later in the book Yumi gets sick, Morgan helps make her feel better. Morgan’s hole soon shrinks after he helps his friend in need. This book would be good for reading out loud to early elementary school children to talk about friendship and being kind to others.
• 
  Sam McIntyre

  The hole in this story for me represented anxiety an not being good enough which is inevitably solved by finding the right people who take care of you in whatever way you need it. This book is so sweet and touches upon heavy topics in very subtle and sweet ways that may be easier for students to comprehend.