Domino’s Tree House: An Acute Case of “Not Enoughitis”
I just published a book on the scourge of humanity. My target audience is kindergarteners.
Half-joking aside, my debut picture book, Domino’s Tree House, explores the all too human condition of “Not Enoughitis.” In it, Domino sets out to build a simple tree house and, never satisfied, keeps building bigger and higher until he finds himself alone on the moon. The lesson is clear: slow down, appreciate what you have. It’s a timeless message, essential as ever, disguised as a wildly tall tale for four- to seven-year-olds. It’s also a message that I, the middle-aged author, still struggle to grasp.
Yes, I suffer from Not Enoughitis. No matter how good things get, I can’t shake the subtle, nagging feeling that things could be even better. This feeling follows me wherever I go. It’s been to Neuschwanstein Castle…and Disneyland regularly; it rides with me on Space Mountain. But I’m giving myself a pass on this one. Why? I’m convinced that most, if not all, of us have at least a touch of Not Enoughitis. Ambition, overachievement, greed, restlessness, bottomless pit, hungry ghost—call it what you will, it’s Not Enoughitis, and all but the most enlightened among us are in some way afflicted.
Here’s another reason to give ourselves a pass: for all the suffering it causes, Not Enoughitis is, paradoxically, a human superpower. Isn’t this bane of our existence also the same force that erects skyscrapers, carves tunnels through mountains, and sends billionaires hurtling into space? (The most extreme cases of Not Enoughitis usually end with someone hurtling through space).
Getting back to those four- to seven-year-olds, reviewers have praised Domino’s Tree House’s effectiveness as a conversation starter and its ability to convey these complex themes to small children. Francisco Fonseca’s magnificent illustrations of mansions, castles, skyscrapers and space stations—all stemming from Domino’s Not Enoughitis—will dazzle young readers, perhaps making the central theme of contentment a hard sell. My suggestion: teach the middle path, the path of having it both ways. Let children know it’s okay to appreciate what they have while spiritedly striving for more, to build that skyscraper, hurtle into space, but to savor every small moment on the way up.
Dawn Patitucci is a community college professor from Illinois who has written for both adults and children. Domino’s Tree House, her children’s debut, is available now from WorthyKids Books.
Domino's Tree House
by Dawn Patitucci
Illustrated by Francisco Fonseca
Join one boy's quest to build the ultimate tree house in this imaginative picture book about the good things we might be missing in our never-ending pursuit of "better."
Domino’s backyard isn't enough for him, so he builds a tree house. When the tree house isn't quite enough, he builds a tree cottage, then a tree mansion, and on and on, pursuing something "more"—something that he can't put his finger on and can't quite reach. In a series of escalating feats of tree-house engineering, Domino builds and builds, until he finds himself alone on the moon, still not satisfied.
Gorgeous illustrations of a gravity-defying tree house will capture little ones' imaginations, while the satisfying conclusion will remind young readers that wanting more might cause us to miss the sweetness of what we already possess.