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The protagonist of The Hole has discovered a hole in his apartment and tries to find an explanation for it. He seeks expert advice. But not everything can be explained. Perhaps he'll just have to accept that the hole is there? The Hole has simple, expressive drawings created by pen and computer, and there's a hole punched right through the book, so it really exists, even if it can't be explained. Comic yet philosophical, simple yet deeply expressive, The Hole is quite simply—brilliant! "Hello, I've discovered a hole in my apartment. . . . It moves. . . . If you could come take a look. . . . Bring it down, you say? What? Hello?!" Born in 1972, Øyvind Torseter is an artist and one of Norway's most acclaimed illustrators. He employs both traditional and digital picture techniques and has created six picture books on his own and many others with different authors. Torseter has received numerous prizes for his books, which have been translated into many languages. My Father's Arms Are A Boat (Enchanted Lion Books, 2012) was his first book to be published in the United States.
68 pages, Unknown Binding
First published April 23, 2012
3 people are currently reading
928 people want to read
About the author
Øyvind Torseter
51 books36 followersØyvind Torseter is a Norwegian artist and illustrator who has created eleven books on his own and several with other authors. He’s received numerous awards for his books, including a Bologna Ragazzi Award and the Norwegian Book Art Prize. In 2014, Øyvind was a finalist for the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 159 reviews
September 7, 2023
A hole that goes through the book plays a part in the existence of the main character as he tries to discover it's meaning. A rare book that can 'transition' with age and growth - you could read this book every decade and find new meaning each time - very hard to do - especially with a book for children.
January 21, 2023
Mam fazę na książki dla młodszych, a ta była super ciekawa i piękna
December 31, 2024
اگه این کتابو برای همه گروه سنی در نظر بگیریم، داستان همون حفرهی درونمونه که هیچوقت قرار نیست پر شه.
July 1, 2015
You think this essentially wordless graphic novel or picture book is for kids, but I don't think it really is just for kids. Maybe it's now what some people call "all ages"? Either way, regardless of category, I really, really liked it a lot. There's a hole drilled through the book and each page deals with the shifting nature of the hole. Clever, interesting, charming, fun. Loved it!
August 5, 2021
Discovering a hole in the middle of his new apartment, the protagonist of this text-minimal picture-book from Norway is surprised, dismayed, and then determined to get to the bottom of the matter. Eventually capturing the hole in a box, he takes it to a lab for examination, but discovers that even the scientists there can't give him definitive answers. Intriguingly, the protagonist's hole is clearly not the first phenomenon of this nature that the lab workers have seen. Eventually our hero returns home, where he makes ready for bed, eventually falling asleep...
Originally published in Norwegian as Hullet, this interesting picture-book revolves around the die-cut hole in the center of the book - a hole that goes through the outside binding and all of the pages. This hole provides an interesting focal point, visually speaking, for author/artist Øyvind Torseter's illustrations, and I think my favorite scenes were the ones in which our protagonist first discovers the hole, and then is surprised when it seems to move around. Of course, the physical hole that has been bored through the book does not move, it is the protagonist and the artwork that shifts around it, making some of these scenes very clever indeed. I chuckled when our hero stumbles over the hole, now at his feet. The scenes subsequent to the boxing of the hole, although also clever - the hole is an eye in one scene, an "O" in a sign in another, and an actual hole in the ground in yet another - didn't work as well for me, in terms of storytelling. No doubt I am too literal, but because the protagonist had purportedly captured the hole in his box, its physical persistence on other parts of the page distracted me from the story. Leaving that aside, the artwork itself had a quirky charm, and a minimal quality - minimal color palette, lots of white space on the page - that worked very well with the tale. I have encountered Torseter's illustrations before, in Håkon Øvreås' children's novel, Brown , but was happy to peruse it again.
Innovative, clever, entertaining - The Hole is a picture-book I would recommend, despite my feeling that it didn't always quite work, in terms of the interaction of the physical hole and the story. If half stars were available, I would give it a 3.5 star rating. Although quite long for a picture-book, at sixty-four pages, it never feels like a drawn out or laborious read, perhaps because the text is so minimal and the artwork so engaging. For my part, I will definitely be seeking out more of Øyvind Torseter's work.
Originally published in Norwegian as Hullet, this interesting picture-book revolves around the die-cut hole in the center of the book - a hole that goes through the outside binding and all of the pages. This hole provides an interesting focal point, visually speaking, for author/artist Øyvind Torseter's illustrations, and I think my favorite scenes were the ones in which our protagonist first discovers the hole, and then is surprised when it seems to move around. Of course, the physical hole that has been bored through the book does not move, it is the protagonist and the artwork that shifts around it, making some of these scenes very clever indeed. I chuckled when our hero stumbles over the hole, now at his feet. The scenes subsequent to the boxing of the hole, although also clever - the hole is an eye in one scene, an "O" in a sign in another, and an actual hole in the ground in yet another - didn't work as well for me, in terms of storytelling. No doubt I am too literal, but because the protagonist had purportedly captured the hole in his box, its physical persistence on other parts of the page distracted me from the story. Leaving that aside, the artwork itself had a quirky charm, and a minimal quality - minimal color palette, lots of white space on the page - that worked very well with the tale. I have encountered Torseter's illustrations before, in Håkon Øvreås' children's novel, Brown , but was happy to peruse it again.
Innovative, clever, entertaining - The Hole is a picture-book I would recommend, despite my feeling that it didn't always quite work, in terms of the interaction of the physical hole and the story. If half stars were available, I would give it a 3.5 star rating. Although quite long for a picture-book, at sixty-four pages, it never feels like a drawn out or laborious read, perhaps because the text is so minimal and the artwork so engaging. For my part, I will definitely be seeking out more of Øyvind Torseter's work.
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January 28, 2019I have started borrowing books I am attracted to in media reviews from the library to test drive them before buying them for my grandchildren. Stories, style, and artwork that appeal to reviewers don’t necessarily appeal to children; after all the actual purchasers are adults, so why not market to them?
This is advertised as Kindergarten to second grade. My granddaughter will soon be 4 so I checked it out. She loves interactive books and making art, so i thought the moving hole would be a hit.
Sophisticated drawings. The book presupposes experience with daily apartment life in a big city and understanding of what would occur in a science lab. As she lives in a rural part of a suburb I decided we would spend so much time explaining what the drawings were about that it would kill the story. Also, while some reviewers have called this ‘cute’ I found it melancholy. Not that kids shouldn’t be exposed to melancholy, but you should not expect ha ha funny. One Amazon reviewer suggested it was better suited to be an adult coffee table book, and I would agree.
This is advertised as Kindergarten to second grade. My granddaughter will soon be 4 so I checked it out. She loves interactive books and making art, so i thought the moving hole would be a hit.
Sophisticated drawings. The book presupposes experience with daily apartment life in a big city and understanding of what would occur in a science lab. As she lives in a rural part of a suburb I decided we would spend so much time explaining what the drawings were about that it would kill the story. Also, while some reviewers have called this ‘cute’ I found it melancholy. Not that kids shouldn’t be exposed to melancholy, but you should not expect ha ha funny. One Amazon reviewer suggested it was better suited to be an adult coffee table book, and I would agree.
August 22, 2013
This Norwegian import is an almost-wordless picture book that will surprise and delight. It is the story of a rounded-nosed creature/person who discovers a hole in his wall in the apartment he just moved into. But when he tries to see where the hole is coming from, he discovers that it is only on one side of his wall. The hole moves to the floor and trips him, so he calls for expert help. He manages to catch the hole in a box and takes it to a laboratory for scrutiny. Finally, the hole is gone from his apartment. Or is it?
With a hole punched right through the book, you know it is a stationary thing. But the art makes it shift and move around the illustrated space to great effect. Torseter has a great sense of pacing here with tension building as the reader knows of the hole before the main character sees it. They are also very aware of the fact that the hole never really went away too. As the hole is taken to the lab, Torseter shows us the scenes he passes through, each with a hole but a different one.
Entirely playful and a truly wondrous look at the world, this book will have you reading it again right away. Appropriate for ages 3-5.
With a hole punched right through the book, you know it is a stationary thing. But the art makes it shift and move around the illustrated space to great effect. Torseter has a great sense of pacing here with tension building as the reader knows of the hole before the main character sees it. They are also very aware of the fact that the hole never really went away too. As the hole is taken to the lab, Torseter shows us the scenes he passes through, each with a hole but a different one.
Entirely playful and a truly wondrous look at the world, this book will have you reading it again right away. Appropriate for ages 3-5.
December 18, 2016
This was an unexpected delight. I'm usually not keen on books which have holes or lift-the-flaps in them unless they're use is purposeful and adds to the story. The hole in Torseter's 'The Hole' is actually central to the whole text. The large, thick book has had one small hole-punch sized hole running right through the book and it is a startling and unexpected problem for the poor protagonist who wants it gone. Watching how Torseter has his character fall victim to the format and design of an actual book within his world is clever and engaging. I think it's great to be able to show readers that books can be more than simple words and pictures on the page. They can be interactive, challenging and break convention. This does it so well.
June 2, 2014
Enchanting and simple line illustrations and a clever concept. Never has one die-cut hole been used to such great effect.
(But it bothered me in the balcony sequence, the images did not shift in such a way as to make the "moon" appear to travel across the sky from one illustration to the next. It feels like a wasted opportunity and a lapse from the brilliance of the rest of the book).
(But it bothered me in the balcony sequence, the images did not shift in such a way as to make the "moon" appear to travel across the sky from one illustration to the next. It feels like a wasted opportunity and a lapse from the brilliance of the rest of the book).
April 12, 2014
It seems to me that most award winning childrens' books are didactic predictable and trite, ...
not this Norwegian gem!
This is curious, unusual, thought provoking and cute!
And to me, ... kinda existential!
not this Norwegian gem!
This is curious, unusual, thought provoking and cute!
And to me, ... kinda existential!
February 9, 2016
This man is my favourite thing.
February 15, 2020
“...YES, HELLO...I'VE FOUND A HOLE...IN MY APARTMENT...YES, NO...IT KEEPS MOVING...YES...COULD YOU COME AND HAVE A LOOK...NO...OK...TAKE IT WITH ME...TO YOU? HOW...HELLO?”
I'm a long ways removed from being a kid, but I find I can still love certain children's books, and this is one of them. Terrific illustrations with spare and strategic use of color. Love the guy with the vaguely dog-like (horse?) head, confounded by the hole in his apartment. It's a real hole in this book, punched smack dab in the middle of the book, but it keeps "moving" around in the poor guy's apartment. He even trips on it. Very clever. After a coupla tries, he snares the hole by tossing a box atop it, and takes the boxed hole onto the bus, downtown to the lab to have it checked out by the pros in all things holes. En-route, the hole in the book replaces other circles in the panels, such as a guy's eye, a car's headlight, balloon, a kid's nostril, etc. The story, a very quick read, ends unresolved, the guy back in his apt., gets ready for bed and goes to sleep, awaiting the lab's results. Interestingly, the hole in the book is still there, of course, but he no longer notices it.
If a hole falls in the middle of a book, and all are asleep and unable to see it, is it there?
I'm a long ways removed from being a kid, but I find I can still love certain children's books, and this is one of them. Terrific illustrations with spare and strategic use of color. Love the guy with the vaguely dog-like (horse?) head, confounded by the hole in his apartment. It's a real hole in this book, punched smack dab in the middle of the book, but it keeps "moving" around in the poor guy's apartment. He even trips on it. Very clever. After a coupla tries, he snares the hole by tossing a box atop it, and takes the boxed hole onto the bus, downtown to the lab to have it checked out by the pros in all things holes. En-route, the hole in the book replaces other circles in the panels, such as a guy's eye, a car's headlight, balloon, a kid's nostril, etc. The story, a very quick read, ends unresolved, the guy back in his apt., gets ready for bed and goes to sleep, awaiting the lab's results. Interestingly, the hole in the book is still there, of course, but he no longer notices it.
If a hole falls in the middle of a book, and all are asleep and unable to see it, is it there?
Read
December 28, 2024اونقدرها نفهمیدمش و بنظرم خیلی گُنگ بود.
داستان یه آقاییه که به خونه جدیدی اسبابکشی میکنه و اونجا روی دیوار یک Hole یا چاله میبینه که حرکت میکنه.
نفهمیدم آقاهه چطور فهمید که باید به کی زنگ بزنه؟ نفهمیدم اونا توی آزمایشگاه چرا به چالهها علاقه داشتن؟ چه کاری باهاشون انجام میدادن؟ اگه طبق نقاشیها، شهر پر از اون چالهها بود، چرا وقتی مرد با چاله پیششون رفت باز هم براشون جذاب بود و اون رو قبول کردن؟
۰۳/۱۰/۸
داستان یه آقاییه که به خونه جدیدی اسبابکشی میکنه و اونجا روی دیوار یک Hole یا چاله میبینه که حرکت میکنه.
نفهمیدم آقاهه چطور فهمید که باید به کی زنگ بزنه؟ نفهمیدم اونا توی آزمایشگاه چرا به چالهها علاقه داشتن؟ چه کاری باهاشون انجام میدادن؟ اگه طبق نقاشیها، شهر پر از اون چالهها بود، چرا وقتی مرد با چاله پیششون رفت باز هم براشون جذاب بود و اون رو قبول کردن؟
۰۳/۱۰/۸
December 28, 2024
انگار قرن به قرن و سال به سال، همونقدر که از خلاقیت ادبیات بزرگسال داره کم میشه، به خلاقیت ادبیات کودک اضافه میشه
بعضی کتابای کودک سن ن��یشناسن البته و فقط اسما تگ کودک میخورن و کاملا مناسب آدمبزرگهاییه که هنوز کودک درون دارن.
این یکی از همون کتاباست :)
از اینجا قرض بگیرین
بعضی کتابای کودک سن ن��یشناسن البته و فقط اسما تگ کودک میخورن و کاملا مناسب آدمبزرگهاییه که هنوز کودک درون دارن.
این یکی از همون کتاباست :)
از اینجا قرض بگیرین
January 14, 2014
The first thing you will notice when you pick up this book is that there is a hole carved right through it ... from cover to cover. Little fingers will fit through the hole and a good "peek" will unveil the person or things that your eye can bring into focus on the other side. Oyvind has taken this concept and written a fabulous story around it and it works very well with both young and old.
A mutant character moves into an apartment and discovers a hole in the wall when he sits down to dinner. The fun part is that the reader actually is introduced to the hole first and the story picks up from there. The hole is no ordinary one. It moves up and down and then across the floor which trips the fellow so he decides he had better get to the bottom of this mystery and check out this strange phenomenon called "the hole".
He decides to call up a local lab and see if they can help him.
"Hello, I've discovered a hole in my apartment...It moves...If you could come take a look...Bring it down, you say? What? Hello?" The lab tells him to capture the hole, box it up, then bring it in so they can run some tests and make an analysis of it. He successfully catches it and off he goes hoping to solve this strange mystery. "We'll keep the hole for the moment and contact you later," says a serious woman in a lab coat.
Can the lab give him the answer he is looking for? Will the hole be gone from his apartment forever and never bother him again or return to it's original location? The reader again is the one who finds the answers to these questions first making him feel very important indeed and part of this brilliant storyline.
This fun, interactive book is pure imagination. It is almost wordless which makes it even more engaging because your child can fill in dialogue and ideas as you go along with the pictures. The line drawings are witty and humorous and the illustrator has used pictures around the hole to give it a whole new perspective and the illusion that the hole has indeed shifted and moved. Oyvind has transformed the hole into a balloon, a streetlight and a nostril, just to name a few. This amusing story will delight children as they keep watching the hole and as the pages turn, it magically and playfully morphs from place to place and into something brand new.
A mutant character moves into an apartment and discovers a hole in the wall when he sits down to dinner. The fun part is that the reader actually is introduced to the hole first and the story picks up from there. The hole is no ordinary one. It moves up and down and then across the floor which trips the fellow so he decides he had better get to the bottom of this mystery and check out this strange phenomenon called "the hole".
He decides to call up a local lab and see if they can help him.
"Hello, I've discovered a hole in my apartment...It moves...If you could come take a look...Bring it down, you say? What? Hello?" The lab tells him to capture the hole, box it up, then bring it in so they can run some tests and make an analysis of it. He successfully catches it and off he goes hoping to solve this strange mystery. "We'll keep the hole for the moment and contact you later," says a serious woman in a lab coat.
Can the lab give him the answer he is looking for? Will the hole be gone from his apartment forever and never bother him again or return to it's original location? The reader again is the one who finds the answers to these questions first making him feel very important indeed and part of this brilliant storyline.
This fun, interactive book is pure imagination. It is almost wordless which makes it even more engaging because your child can fill in dialogue and ideas as you go along with the pictures. The line drawings are witty and humorous and the illustrator has used pictures around the hole to give it a whole new perspective and the illusion that the hole has indeed shifted and moved. Oyvind has transformed the hole into a balloon, a streetlight and a nostril, just to name a few. This amusing story will delight children as they keep watching the hole and as the pages turn, it magically and playfully morphs from place to place and into something brand new.
March 26, 2024
Măi, mare bazaconie a scris Øyvind Torseter. E ditamai o listă de motive pentru care cartea merită atenție:
1. Conceptul inovator
2. Ilustrații și design grafic
3. Interpretări multiple
4. Potențial pedagogic
1. Conceptul inovator
2. Ilustrații și design grafic
3. Interpretări multiple
4. Potențial pedagogic
April 7, 2014
THE STORY OF A MYSTERIOUS MOVING HOLE
Michelangelo carved David from a block of marble that came with a hole gouged through it by another sculptor. He made the hole disappear. This book has a hole in it too, but the protagonist can’t make it go away. After moving into a new apartment, he discovers the hole on one of the walls, and is astounded to see it move across various surfaces. He chases it down and puts it in a box, but the mischievous hole refuses to be contained. A clever book for kids and parents by Norwegian illustrator Øyvind Torseter. – Mark Frauenfelder
The Hole
by Øyvind Torseter
Enchanted Lion Books
2013, 64 pages, 9.1 x 11 x .06
$17 Buy a copy on Amazon
Michelangelo carved David from a block of marble that came with a hole gouged through it by another sculptor. He made the hole disappear. This book has a hole in it too, but the protagonist can’t make it go away. After moving into a new apartment, he discovers the hole on one of the walls, and is astounded to see it move across various surfaces. He chases it down and puts it in a box, but the mischievous hole refuses to be contained. A clever book for kids and parents by Norwegian illustrator Øyvind Torseter. – Mark Frauenfelder
The Hole
by Øyvind Torseter
Enchanted Lion Books
2013, 64 pages, 9.1 x 11 x .06
$17 Buy a copy on Amazon
July 19, 2015
This is both innovative and philosophically interesting. While officially a "children's" book, this can be appreciated by all ages. There is a hole through the book--a real hole, but, in the story, the hole is not entirely real. The illustrations, Torseter's strength, all center around the hole, which must have been challenging to execute. I was introduced to this book by Torseter himself when a group of us visited Scandinavia recently and met with various authors and illustrators of children's books. I highly recommend this book, which can be read and enjoyed by children at one level and by adults at another.
March 1, 2014
"...Yes, hello... I've found a hole... in my apartment... yes, no... it keeps moving... yes... could you come and have a look... no.... ok... take it with me... to you? How... Hello?" Frustration, alarm, confusion, and self-doubt emanates from the main character's eyes as a hole, bored into the center of this nearly-wordless book, moves about his apartment with every page turn. Additionally expressive, in an odd sort of way, is the die-cut hole itself - as it moves throughout different scenes in the book, one can almost imagine it laughing at the main character's puzzlement.
January 31, 2014
Our library's shelving this in the picture books, and there's no reason it can't be there, but it really is more of a graphic novel which wouldn't be out of place in the adult section. It's experimental in that there is a hole-punch-sized hole punched all the way through the whole book (including covers). Most of the book is wordless and integrates the character's confusion with the hole (in his apartment) into the story. Definitely an interesting read and worth seeking out.
May 3, 2014
A book with a hole, about a hole.
What is more appealing to a 4 year old?
This was cute.
Only a few words in the book, so my son made his own story to the illustrations.
Read it, used it as a telescope, read it again with a different story.
Book is nice and durable, good for the imagination.
Like it!
What is more appealing to a 4 year old?
This was cute.
Only a few words in the book, so my son made his own story to the illustrations.
Read it, used it as a telescope, read it again with a different story.
Book is nice and durable, good for the imagination.
Like it!
October 21, 2016
3.5 sterren. Geen idee meer van wanneer ik dit boek heb gelezen, ik zag toevallig de foto staan in mijn telefoon (ik maak fotos als ik bij bibliotheken of boekenhandels boeken lees). Ik weet nog wel dat het een redelijk leuk boek was, ook al vond ik het ietwat vreemd. Wel een creatief idee.
December 14, 2014
Quirky and wholly entertaining.
September 23, 2015
Hahahah omg this book spoke to me!!! :) :D
Highly recommend!!! :) :D
Highly recommend!!! :) :D
November 7, 2019
I was pleasantly surprised after reading this book, initially I wondered how a book with a hole cut out of the middle of it could be engaging and fun but by the end of it I was left thinking it was actually a pretty genius idea. At first it's like the hole is jut there but then the main character notices it and goes to extraordinary lengths to get rid of it, not without struggles though of course. He trips over it, he thinks its in the wall then its in the washing machine, and then it moves to the door until eventually he catches it.
The hole goes from being an inconvenience in his house to then becoming almost part of the world as he carries it around in a box. It takes the place of things that are normally round, like a traffic light or a persons eye. Normally picture books are separate to the physical aspects of a book but Torseter incorporates the two together really well to create this enjoyable read.
The hole goes from being an inconvenience in his house to then becoming almost part of the world as he carries it around in a box. It takes the place of things that are normally round, like a traffic light or a persons eye. Normally picture books are separate to the physical aspects of a book but Torseter incorporates the two together really well to create this enjoyable read.
October 26, 2017
I can't say I've seen anything quite like this before. The book literally has a hole punched right through it, and the story revolves around someone who finds the hole in his apartment and tries to find ways to get rid of it. It's almost wordless, and doesn't really "resolve" (the hole is there all the way through, of course), but I found it amusing and clever, and my kids like it too.
December 26, 2024
بامزه اونجاش که پای تلفن میگه «چی؟ با خودم بیارمش؟» و میبردش
!!
و اون، خیلی شیطنتآمیز، همهجا هست و انگار خیال همه راحته که میتونن کنترلش کنن و میدونن کجاس. حتی اگر نشناسنش
و اون هم جلوی چشمه و هم دور از دسترس و نگاه
کتاب بانمکیه
!!
و اون، خیلی شیطنتآمیز، همهجا هست و انگار خیال همه راحته که میتونن کنترلش کنن و میدونن کجاس. حتی اگر نشناسنش
و اون هم جلوی چشمه و هم دور از دسترس و نگاه
کتاب بانمکیه
October 16, 2019
delightful.
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