Hector the collector is about a little boy and his little obsession in collecting different things. He collects different acorns of all sizes, shapes and colors. He eventually gets caught when the teacher finds his collection in his desk. As the story goes on it talks about how the teacher explains to the students in the class about how cool collections can be. This story can help students understand different things such as how materials are different in shape, size, color but can be similar in other ways as well. This book is good for younger elementary grade levels because it gives good descriptions about the items Hector collects. ( )

Hector likes to collect acorns. He collects different acorns of all sizes, shapes and colors. When his collection grew too large, he began to store them in his desk. His classmates started to make fun of them, but the teacher started talking about different collections and his classmates talked about collections of their own.

I would use this book with grades Kindergarten through 2nd. This book would be a good community building lesson. A quote from the book that I really like is that "they are all different, and they are all beautiful." This can help the students appreciate their classmates differences. It could also be used when talking about science. The students can learn about different collections that go in museums such as bones, bugs, artifacts, and paintings. ( )

One day on the way to school, Hector found an acorn. Later that day at recess, he found two more. On the way home, he found even more. Every acorn was different. All the acorns were beautiful. He kept them in his desk at school.

Hector's collection grew until one day, his teacher found them. Everyone laughed, but the teacher explained that Hector is a collector. As the class learned about the different types of collections, it turns out that some of his classmates had collections too. Hector and his classmates learned that every collection is different, every collection is beautiful, and every collection tells a story. And it all began with just one acorn.

The Bottom Line: This gentle tale of collecting will get kids interested in starting a collection of their very own whether it be acorns, pennies, or sea glass. Charming illustrations in soft colors will keep kids focused. Highly recommended for classroom or library storytimes for kids ages 3 – 7. Includes an Author's Note about the different types of collections.

This review also appears at the Mini Book Bytes Book Review Blog. ( )

When Hector stumbles upon an acorn on his walk to school, he is so struck by it that he puts it in his pocket. Soon he is collecting acorns, admiring the ways in which they differ - color, texture, size - and appreciating the way in which they are the same. Then his teacher opens his desk at school, and his collection of acorns is revealed, to the ridicule of all. Has Hector lost all credit with his classmates, or will they turn out to have some collecting habits of their own...?

Although I've honestly never thought about collecting as a category of behavior, there's no doubt that I'm a bit of a collector myself - at least when it comes to books! - so I ended up finding Hector the Collector a charming tale. Author Emily Beeny is an art historian and museum curator, and it is clear that this informs her narrative here, in her debut children's book. Her afterword, in which she talks about the different collections, from the personal to the public, will get young children thinking, not just about how we collect things, but about how we categorize them. The artwork by Stephanie Graegin is colorful and appealing. Recommended to all the young collectors out there, whether it is stamps or buttons (or anything else) that interests them. ( )