Carried by a great raven from the Beyond Place and planted in a meadow ringed by forest, a single acorn takes root among trees it longs to become. It strains toward the pines’ straight height, envies the birch its elegance, and aches to bear the apple tree’s sweet fruit — certain that anything is more worthy than what it already is.
But growing means weathering more than seasons. Through storm and scar, frost and long sleep, the seedling discovers that the shapes we force ourselves into are not the ones we are made for — and that the most valuable thing in all the world is to become, truly, oneself.
In the tradition of The Velveteen Rabbit and The Little Prince, Acorn is an illustrated fable of self-discovery, acceptance, and expression: a story simple enough for a child to love, and deep enough to grow with the reader who returns to it for years.
Read the Opening
From the first page to the edge of the storm
Leave your name and step inside. You’ll read Acorn from its very first page to the edge of the storm — the whole beginning, yours right now. And you’ll be first through the door when the finished book is ready.
You’ll start reading right away. We’ll also email you — from jacob@jacobnordby.com — with the reading link and updates ahead of the official release, so add us to your contacts and peek in your spam folder just in case. Your address stays between us.
The Illustrator
Kelly van Koppenhagen draws nature, feelings, and the things we sometimes need to hear. Growing up surrounded by woods, she has always sensed a certain wisdom in the way things grow, change, and find their places — and for years she has worked alongside young people navigating their own hard weather. That spirit runs through the illustrations she shares with a large audience as @drawingplantlady. Illustrating Acorn was a natural homecoming.
“I’ve always believed the small, growing things have something to teach us. Illustrating Acorn gave me a way to put some of that wisdom on paper.”
— Kelly
The Author
Jacob Nordby is a writer, creative guide, and lifelong student of becoming. Through his books and his work, he has helped many people reclaim their creativity and find their own voices — a path that began with his own long unlearning of who he was told to be. That thread runs through everything he writes, and with Acorn it finds its way into a story.
“Acorn showed up as a story while working with a client one day, and then would never leave me alone until I wrote it. I love Acorn because, in some way, this little nut is all of us. We are all becoming.” — Jacob
Still here?
the door is open
Leave your name and read the opening of Acorn now — and be first to know when the finished book arrives.
ACORN
A Tale of Becoming · Written by Jacob Nordby · Illustrated by Kelly van Koppenhagen
Manifesto Publishing House, Inc.
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