Hole Is to Dig: A First Book of First Definitions

What is a hole?
A hole is when you step in it
you go down

A hole is
for a mouse
to live in.

And, of course, a hole is to dig.

This is the funniest book
of definitions you'll ever read!

The author's merry text and Sendak's bouncing illustrations provide young readers with a host of "first" definitions that explain everything from faces to books. Illustrated.

What is a hole?
A hole is when you step in it you go down

A hole is for a mouse to live in.

And, of course,a hole is to dig.

This is the funniest book of definitions you'll ever read!

New York Times

A unique book . . . with drawings bouncing with action and good humor.

Ruth Krauss, a member of the experimental Writer’s Laboratory at the Bank Street School in New York City in the 1940s, imaginatively used humor and invented words to create some of the very first books for children that highlighted a child’s inner life. She collaborated with some of the greatest illustrators in children’s literature, including Maurice Sendak and her husband, Crockett Johnson.