"But then spring comes and you need
to make room for something new.
You put the rocks in a jar, and next
thing you know, you have ...
A pocket full of petals."
A young child explores nature through the four seasons, while also satisfying an affinity for collecting special items. In winter, he loves to look for rocks that fit neatly in his pocket and offer oppportunity for use in special circumstances. As winter turns to spring, he puts those rocks in a jar to allow room in his pocket for a new collection. This time it's petals. They have value because of their fragrance and their quiet softness.
As the petals are moved to the rock jar and spring turns to summer vacation, the new collection is the many shells found on the beach. They offer up sound and familiarity. The advent of fall moves the shells to the top of the heap in the jar, and leave room in the pocket for the many acorns found on the leaf-strewn ground. It takes careful thought to find ways to make acorns valuable during the autumn months.
Too soon, snow falls. The acorns find a home in the jar, leaving a chance for the child to take a clear look at the collected layers and imagine new ways to show their value as family gifts. The rocks are given back to nature as sleds for fairies, and the ones remaining return to a now-empty pocket ... safe, solid and satisfying.
The cumulative nature of the story will appeal to young readers: the collecting, the skepticism of the family, the movement from season to season, the imagination at every turn, the placing of one pocket full atop the last, and then using each to make something new. What a lovely celebration, accompanied by mixed-media artwork showing the child's full attention to the natural world and its treasures.
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