The title suggests people hungry enough to eat almost anything, and it could not be closer to the overall theme of this powerful novel that features Curro, a boy who knows nothing but poverty, hunger, and family crisis. He's eight when the book begins and a young man when the final page is turned. The story begins in the 1930s, after the Spanish Civil War has ended. For the peasants living in the mountainous region of Spain known as Andalusia, the war is not over. The rich still control everything, including the Church. Partisans of various political ilks can intimidate or kill anyone, even a working child. Curro is greatly loved midst his parents' ever-growing family. He's close to his grandmother, and her death scene will be memorable to readers of this novel that can be both tender and harsh on the same page. His mother saves a slice of bread for him each day so her exhausted child who is barred from attending school can eat after getting home late from work. Curro has a quick wit and ingenuity, as witnessed by his actions after he discovers a honeycomb in the monastery and a short-lived business of selling dishes. The Acorn Eaters evokes a strong sense of community within a wonderfully developed plot that includes growing tensions, a touch of romance, strong characters, and a variety of views regarding material culture. This matchless novel is based on the childhood experiences of the author's husband and won Holland's 1989 Golden Pencil Award. (Ages 12-16) Honor Book, CBC Batchelder Award Discussion

The Spanish Civil War is over, but the peasants of Andalusia, in the south of Spain, still live in dire poverty. Curro leaves school at eight years old to become a swineherd at the rich monastery on the hill, so he can help his family get enough to eat. There he can scrounge for acorn-like bellotas to stave off his hunger -- but only at the risk of his life, for everything, even the bellotas that are fed to the pigs, is the property of the landowners. He finds other ways to earn a few pennies -- sometimes by hard labor, sometimes by ingenuity, sometimes by sheer trickery. Based on the childhood recollections of the author's late husband, Salvador Gonzalez Barragan, the story of Curro's journey into manhood is a fascinating picture of a way of life not known to many American readers.