Candlewick Press
2011
275p.
Abandoned by his mother in an Acadia National Park campground, Jack tries to make his way back to Boston before anyone figures out what is going on, with only a small toy elephant for company.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Small As An Elephant by Jennifer Jacobson
Candlewick Press
2011
275p.
Abandoned by his mother in an Acadia National Park campground, Jack tries to make his way back to Boston before anyone figures out what is going on, with only a small toy elephant for company.
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A moving story told from an 11-year-old's perspective. I discovered this book in Bar Harbor while we were camping in Acadia National Park at the same campground where this story begins, so it immediately drew me in. Starts with a real air of mystery -- what happened to Jack's mother? Why would she have left him? -- and the story gradually reveals how Jack both loves his mother fiercely and has had to learn to compensate for her mental illness, putting an adult burden on his childhood. Perhaps because our route covered much of the same path as Jack traveled, and because I have an 11-year-old son who loves animals, I found the story absorbing and believable. Jack's fascination with elephants, his drive to find the elephant Lydia, and the elephant anecdotes at the start of each chapter, were the emotional core of the book. While the ending was more abrupt than I would have wished, resolving Jack's complex allegiances too quickly, the story was still satisfying, and will stay with me a long time. Powerful depiction of a child's view of a parent's manic depression, and of the resourcefulness even a child can manage when desperate.
ReplyDeleteThe author did an excellent job of relating Jack's thoughts which, to me, seem realistic. I liked all the twists with people who help Jack and how they banded together in the end to find him. Each obstacle and answer seem totally believable for a child left to fend for himself. There was enough suspense that I was surprised each time Jack's trip took an unexpected turn. Thought the ending was rushed, but otherwise good book. Perfect for fans of Hatchet.
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