THERE WAS A HOLE

A girl struggling with grief receives help from a classmate and her father.

Lily has “a hole”—represented by a dusky violet circle on her T-shirt. Her sadness persists through festivities on her birthday, a beach trip, and more. Despite her empathetic father’s attempts to help, Lily’s hole grows as she withdraws from favorite pastimes and routines. At school, Thomas notices her distress and confides, “I have a hole too.” Thomas shows her the patches on his T-shirt. “They help you repair the hole.” Lily works on creating patches with Thomas at school, at home with Daddy, and alone. Lily’s and Thomas’ patches are symbols of things that can help us heal—pets, nature, music, and connections with others. Lehrhaupt sensitively handles a common emotional side effect of healing from grief: worrying that moving on means forgetting. “If I patch it completely, will I still remember?” asks Lily. “You won’t forget,” he reassures her. “But things will get better.” By showing Lily beginning to recover due in part to the help of a friend, Lehrhaupt demonstrates that kids have the ability to help themselves and others heal from loss. Gentle illustrations, often set against white backdrops, portray Lily and her dad with light brown skin and dark hair. Thomas has dark brown skin and curly hair; students in the classroom are diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

An insightful portrayal of childhood loss and healing.