- Picture Books
- Ages 4–8
- Comedy
Billy and the Hole
Billy discovers a mysterious hole under his favourite tree, one with a cold, flattering voice and ever-growing demands. A gorgeously macabre, laugh-out-loud picture book for fans of Jon Klassen's The Skull.
- Best for4–8
- FormatPicture
- Length40 pp
- Read aloud~8 min
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The vibe
What it’s like.
Style
- Conversational
- Literary
Tone
- Dark
- Funny
- Absurdist
- Irreverent
Themes
Experience meters
What’s it about?
The story.
One day, in his favourite spot under his favourite tree, Billy finds a hole that certainly wasn't there yesterday. And this hole can talk. Its voice is cold and hard, like ancient stone, but its words are all flattery: how clever Billy is, how special, how kind. Billy can't resist his strange new friend and their sweet nothings, but the hole's requests soon grow larger, and stranger, and harder to satisfy, until Billy realises he must take matters into his own hands before the hole takes matters into its own. Jessica Goecke's debut is a deliciously dark, deadpan-funny picture book with gorgeous, atmospheric art and a genuine shiver of menace beneath the giggles. Perfect for readers who loved the sly creepiness of Jon Klassen's The Skull or Oliver Jeffers's There's a Ghost in This House, it turns a simple hole in the ground into an unforgettable little parable about flattery, greed and knowing when to say no.
Fit check
Right for your child?
Where it lands by age
A darkly comic picture book best for 4-8s who enjoy a spooky thrill, and a great read-aloud with genuine adult crossover appeal. Its cold, menacing hole and macabre tone make it unsuitable for bedtime or for children who scare easily, but confident readers will relish it.
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- Best fit · 4–8
- Read aloud · 4–8
- Independent · 6–8
Prose load
Light
Visual support
Very high
Reluctant-reader friendly
Very
Read-aloud quality
Excellent
Works well for
- Reading aloud
- Reading together
- Gift-buying
- Reluctant readers
Preview before sharing if a child is sensitive to: scary imagery.
Bedtime suitability
2 / 5 · Better outside bedtime
Sensitive-child
2 / 5 · Use judgement
Graphic intensity
2 / 5 · Mild
Best for
- Darkly funny
- Spooky stories
- Fans of jon klassen
- Unexpected picture books
Avoid if
- Wants gentle bedtime
- Sensitive to scary
Why it lands
Why they love it.
Why kids love it
A creepy hole that sweet-talks Billy and then demands stranger and stranger things is the good kind of spooky, and figuring out how Billy can outwit it is thrilling. The deadpan dark humour makes children feel wonderfully in on the joke.
- Trickery and cleverness
- Breaking the rules safely
Why parents love it
Goecke's debut has the sly, understated menace grown-ups love in Klassen, plus a neat undercurrent about flattery and knowing when enough is enough. It reads aloud with delicious comic timing and gives you plenty to talk about once the giggles fade.
- Shared humour
- Quick to read
- Beautiful illustrations
- Conversation starter
About the author & illustrator
Jessica Goecke.
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