Danny, Who Fell in a Hole

by Cary Fagan

Overview

Danny’s parents have always been a bit flaky, but this time they have gone too far! Their latest plan to follow their dreams means Danny and his older brother will spend six months in Banff (wherever that is) and six months in New York City. Furious, Danny runs out of the house and straight into a very, very large hole. When it appears that help is not on the way, Danny becomes a subterranean Robinson Crusoe, creating shelter (garbage bag and paper clips), cereal (coffee creamer, rainwater, granola bars, and a few rogue raisins), and a washroom (a hole in a hole). His Man Friday has a long, earth-covered snout, a taste for beetles, and no eyes to speak of. Oh, and he also talks. His name is Mole, and he is excellent company — until a snake appears, and Danny must save his new friend.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781554983117
Publisher:	Groundwood Books
Publication date:	03/26/2013
Pages:	96
Product dimensions:	7.50(w) x 5.00(h) x (d)
Lexile:	550L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Cary Fagan is the award-winning author of several books for children and adults, including Jacob Two-Two on the High Seas. Milan Pavlovic is an illustrator and graphic artist whose drawings, illustrations, paintings and comics have been published and exhibited internationally. He teaches at OCAD Universityand lives with his family in Toronto.

Editorial Reviews

When Danny’s parents announce their plans to split up the family so they can follow their own artistic dreams, Danny is horrified (his father wants to sing opera in New York City, and his mother intends to bake cheesecakes in Banff, Canada). Even worse, they have given away Danny’s beloved dog, Thwack. In a fit of fury, Danny races out of the house and falls into a deep hole at a construction site. He makes clever use of the items in his backpack to get through the next few days, and befriends a wisecracking mole who not only speaks but also composes poetry (“Dark, dark, O glorious dark!/ Bathe me in blackness, ooohoo ohooo!”). Fagan (The Boy in the Box) has fun casting Danny as an outsider in a family of artistes (“Sunsets are cliché,” huffs Danny’s ukulele-playing older brother after Danny cites a school drawing as an example of his own creativity). Pavlovic’s cartoon spot illustrations are a good fit for this funny and sweet tale about learning to embrace change and appreciating what one has. Ages 8–12. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

Faced with sudden life changes, a boy blindly rushes into a deserted construction site and falls into a hole. Danny comes home from school one day to discover that his parents have boxed up all his possessions, given his dog Thwack away and are separating to pursue their artistic dreams. Understandably infected with a "terrible energy" that sends him pelting down the street, he is too distracted to watch his step. As a result, he finds himself at the bottom of a steep-walled pit, with no cellphone service and only the contents of his backpack for supplies. Being generally a levelheaded sort ("His parents always said he was practical, as if it were some kind of defect"), he takes inventory, does his homework, turns a garbage bag into a shelter--and, along with thinking his own thoughts, has some therapeutic interchanges with a chatty mole and a treacherous snake. Rescued the next day, he emerges to what seems a bright, new world, and though his repentant parents have put everything back the way it was, he lets them know that it's OK to move on. Despite the talking animals, it's more Robinson Crusoe than Alice in Wonderland, with comical dialogue and occasional cartoon illustrations lightening the emotional load. A quirky existential adventure for thoughtful readers. (Fantasy. 9-11)

Kirkus Reviews

“A quirky existential adventure for thoughtful readers.” — Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher