Paul Budnitz

NCLA Review: Morgan is a boy who was born with a hole in his middle and always has a hungry feeling that never goes away. His friend Yumi tries to help by feeding him cake, singing and dancing with him but nothing seems to take away that empty feeling. Yumi becomes sick and Morgan starts to think of ways that he can help her. He visits her, takes her cake and cheers her up and in doing that he stops thinking about the hole in his middle. When Yumi is well again, Morgan discovers that his hole is so small now it looks exactly like a belly button. This delightfully written and beautifully illustrated book would be appropriate for pre-school through elementary readers. It manages to get across a message about friendship and self-centeredness without being preachy. Rating: 4 —AL… (mere)