What do trees and preschoolers have in common? An old American proverb — “Mighty oaks from little acorns grow” — holds the answer: They start off small, but with the right care and room to grow, they can turn into something great.

That’s one of the messages playwright/director Annie Cusick Wood is sharing with the very youngest of Hawaii’s theater audiences in Honolulu Theatre for Youth’s production of “The Tiny Tree” at Tenney Theatre.

The story takes place on an imaginary planet that has become the temporary home to a father-and-son team of astronauts with a damaged spaceship. The son wants to please his father but ignores his father’s instructions to not touch things. He discovers a small blue object that turns out to be a seed. The seed becomes the son’s responsibility. He learns that he must protect and nurture the seed and then care for the tiny tree that sprouts from it. Eventually he must leave it to grow on its own when the spaceship has been repaired and he and his father continue on their journey.

“I love creating work for preschoolers because they are such an honest audience, they are very easy to read so we learn so much about what works and what doesn’t very early on in the run,” Wood said. “It’s very rewarding when they laugh and when they are completely engaged in a sad moment.”

The story was inspired by Wood’s experience with a pilot reforestation project in Hamakua marsh in Kailua. Ten tiny trees were planted to test an automated watering system that reduces the number of visits necessary to keep vulnerable young trees watered. The system worked.

“My tiny tree is now grown and does not need the watering system anymore,” Wood said, adding that she hopes the story will also spark kids’ interest in looking after the planet, learning responsibility, nurturing others and caring for things but also letting them go when the right time comes.

HTY guest actors Antonio Anagaran and Matthew Mazzella star as the astronaut and his inquisitive son. They open the show with interactive entertainment that helps very young children learn how to enjoy live theater — for instance, that there are times to be quiet and times when it is OK to laugh and clap and even participate in the story.

The kids help Mazzella select items from his backpack, warn him about the presence of two-headed aliens and join singalongs while he plays guitar or squeezebox.

References to Buzz Lightyear and David Bowie (of Major Tom, “Space Oddity” and “The Man Who Fell to Earth” fame) add entertainment value for adults in the audience.

A free study guide with suggestions for story-related activities is available at htyweb.org.

Or buy some plant seeds and a little potting soil and let your young astronaut re-create the experience at home.