The Hole

A small, single hole is punched through the center of every page in this story from Norwegian artist Torseter (My Father’s Arms Are a Boat). Readers first see the hole in the wall of an apartment the hero is moving into. He has the body of a hip young urbanite and a head with a Moomin-like snout, and he doesn’t see the hole until he sits down to dinner. After chasing the hole around his apartment—cleverly shifting perspectives create the sense that the hole itself is darting about—he traps the hole in a box, treks across the city, and arrives at a faceless government building. Hilariously, the staff examines the hole and runs a series of tests on it. “We’ll keep the hole for the moment and contact you later,” says a serious woman in a lab coat. But the hole is not so easily defeated. With its moody line drawings, sly humor, and witty use of the hole in each page (when it’s not a hole, it’s a streetlight, balloon, nostril, etc.), Torseter’s story amuses, provokes, and leaves readers wishing for more. Ages 6–up. (Sept.)