Couldn't Shouldn't... -- For authors and illustrators, a story element breakdown and picture book review blog

Cynthia Centerbar
6 days ago
1 min read

With witty imagination, playful text, and a bit of back matter botany, OLLIE, THE ACORN, AND THE MIGHTY IDEA by Andrew Hacket and Kaz Windness cleverly transforms a boy into a tree and a bully into a friend.

Characters: Ollie Alexander Kandersteen is a twig compared to Lucas Montgomery --the bully next door

Themes: bullying, standing up for yourself, friendship, growth and transformation

Conflict: getting back what is yours

Plot: Lucas steals Ollie's plant. Ollie asks for it back, but Lucas shouts at him to leave, and Ollie does.

Feeling as small as a twig, Ollie wishes he were bigger and stronger because then he would be mighty enough to get his plant back.

Hiding behind an oak tree, Ollie gets an idea --"I couldn't. I shouldn't." Ollie thinks, but he does.

Ollie swallows an acorn, hoping it will make him grow, but his stomach doesn't have all the needed botanical elements to make an acorn grow.

No problem, Ollie, one-by-one, finds ways to add soil, water, and sun to his stomach and succeeds in making the acorn grow even though he couldn't and shouldn't.

The acorn grows and grows, transforming Ollie into a powerful oak tree. Now big and strong, Ollie confronts Lucas and swallows one more thing he couldn't and shouldn't before transforming the bully into his friend.

Perspective: Third-person narrator

Setting: Ollie and Lucas's yards

Picture Book Reviews

Buy