The Hole in the Middle    by Paul Budnitz & Aya Kakeda Order:  USA  Can Hyperion, 2011 (2011) Hardcover     Reviewed by Bob Walch 'This is a story about a boy named Morgan, who was born with a hole in his middle. The hole was so big, you could see straight through him, from front to back.' Well, that's pretty strange isn't it? But that's the way my story begins. My name is Morgan. You know, having a hole like that right in my tummy gave me a pretty empty feeling. My best friend Yumi would try to fill me up with strawberry cake, but that didn't help. Yumi tried all sorts of things to help banish that empty feeling that I always had. We made music together and played outdoors, but nothing helped. Then one day Yumi wasn't able to come outside and play. Her mother said she was sick. Now I felt really bad and wondered what I could do to make my friend feel better. I began to visit her every day. Then a funny thing happened. I didn't really notice it at first, but the more I tried to help Yumi, the more I forgot about the hole in my middle. In fact, it grew so small that it eventually looked just like a belly button. And, do you know what? That big hole never came back and I never had that empty feeling again. Do you think it had something to do with maybe feeling sorry for myself and not caring enough about others? Perhaps! Maybe if you have a really good friend to share things with you won't have an empty feeling like I had. I bet friendship and doing stuff for other people has a lot to do with feeling good inside and not empty! If you read my picture book you'll see what I mean. Also, if you sometimes feel like you have a big hole in your tummy, this will be helpful in making it get smaller or actually disappear. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Kids books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews