Patrick doesn’t know why he collects acorns, he just knows that he feels better when he feels their hard, smooth roundness in his hand.
The fact that acorns suggest new growth, in that they are a very small nut with the potential to grow into a very large tree, is quietly central to the story.
Luckily for Patrick and this story, he lives in a town with a lot of oak trees.
We see family photos on the wall, featuring Patrick and his mum and dad, but here in the book there is only his dad, along with Patrick gathering acorns to try to fill an unexplained ache deep inside him.
It becomes
apparent that this story is about a small boy who has lost his mother (although
this is never overtly stated, which somehow softens the impact). The reader is
encouraged to watch Patrick with curiosity and interest, rather than to be
distressed by the idea of loss.
The illustrations and words weave seamlessly together, travelling gently through Patrick’s collecting. Eventually, the pictures land in territory that is less explainable, as we see Patrick’s acorn collection take over every room in the house. Acorns bulge through windows and doors, cascade into the car and the garden and the street. It’s an avalanche of symbolic acorns that finally, eventually, cause Patrick and his Dad …
... to
laugh. And to make acorn angels (think snow angels but in acorns).
This book
is gentle, warm and compassionate in all of the ways that small people might
need when dealing with grief, loss or hard times. I can see it being a
beautiful ‘way in’ to some bigger conversations around these subjects, too.
With Patrick and his dad chatting about their plans for the future, Too Many Acorns ends on a note of hope and upliftment.
Title: Too Many Acorns
Author/Illustrator: Susannah Crispe
Publisher: EK Books, $24.99
Publication Date: 4 September 2024
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781922539748
For Ages: 3 - 8
Type: Picture Book
