THE OAK INSIDE THE ACORN

Nathan Larkin reads Lucado's story of Little Acorn's journey of growth and development with maternal tones and appropriate sound effects. Soft music plays as Little Acorn's stem breaks away from his mother's branch, and he tumbles into a farmer's truck filled with orange trees passing underneath. His mother's parting words--"grow and become all you can be"--linger long after her leaf-filled branches disappear in the distance. Sounds of a braking truck and shovels send Little Acorn spinning into the soft dirt beside a recently transplanted orange tree, and this engaging story of what develops begins. Larkin's delivery, especially his timing, enhance a tale that children will ask to hear repeatedly. G.D.W. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/ NOV 07]