Small as an Elephant

Eleven year old Jack Martel is looking forward to camping out with his mother over Labor Day weekend in Maine’s Acadia National Park. When he wakes up the first morning he discovers he is alone. His mother has disappeared along with the car and all their food. We learn from Jack that his mother is “spinning”, which lets the reader know she is most likely suffering from mental health issues. He's afraid the police will send his mother to jail if he calls them and that Social Services will take him away from his home. He decides to walk the 248 miles back home to Massachusetts and see if his mother is there. Jack is obsessed with elephants and decides to head in the direction of a sanctuary to see Lydia, Maine’s only elephant. show more Along the way he runs into several sticky situations that require him to think on his feet.

I thought this was just a lovely book. Told through the eyes of a boy who loves his mother, it also addressed mental illness in a positive light. The book is recommended for ages 10 and up but I found it quite compelling for the adult reader. You are rooting for Jack all along the journey and have the opportunity to view the world through his eyes. Each chapter begins with informative elephant quotes that show that elephants and humans share many of the same qualities.

I recommend this book to all readers for a sweet story does a great job making you feel like you are a part of the journey. show less

Jack is camping in a national park near Bar Harbor, Maine with his mom when she just ups and leaves. He spends the first day coming up with scenarios of where she might be. In all of them he hopes that she will be back. By the end of day 2 he realizes that he's on his own. He keeps his sleeping bag, but dumps his tent in the woods and starts walking home, which is a 3 hour drive by car. His biggest concerns are where to get food, where to sleep, and how to avoid getting caught. One of my favorite scenes is when he ends up staying in an L.L. Bean Store overnight.

This book is a roller coaster ride of emotions. You hate the mom. You love the kid. As he's on this journey home, you just wish you could jump in the story and drive him home. As show more resourceful as he is, and as determined as he is, you know that this kind of thing just shouldn't happen to kids. But it does. Kids in messed up homes get neglected and left alone all the time. The saddest part for me is that he does all of this because he doesn't want to get taken from his mom and put in a foster home. His main focus is not to let anyone know that he's alone. He is very adept at lying, as most kids in these kinds of homes are.

So what's the elephant all about? Well, he loves elephants. He went to a circus once when he was young and he hated the clowns and tigers, but loved the elephants. When he eventually realizes that his home is really far, he changes course and heads for the adventure park where Lilia the elephant lives. That brings us to the title and what it means. Because the last time I looked, elephants aren't small. What it means is this author wants you to think. I love authors life that.

I really liked the book. Jack's innocence is so sweet. He defends his mom to the end. He feels like his mom's actions are out of her control because of her mental illness. Reading the book as an adult, it's hard to accept. Even with mental illness, there's a line you can't cross when it comes to kids and this mom crossed it. It's unsettling. But some of my favorite books are ones that have a dark side. They are steeped in realism, and I love that.

The only problem in this book is that something about Jack's character doesn't jive. He is so sweet and forgiving about his mom that he doesn't seem like the type of kid who would be tough enough to survive a journey home on his own. He has no money and there is a lot of problem solving that has to happen. His age is called into question too. He feels young to me. We all know how teenagers act. They tend to be mad at the world. They tend to be blamers. This kid doesn't have any of those characteristics. If I had to give him an age I would say 9, but he's more like 12.

Final thoughts. There is a lot of adventure. Everything turns out ok. Sort of. He realizes that he actually has a loving grandmother. His mom still has mental illness. It doesn't feel like anything has changed in his life other than his grandmother stepping in. But really, you get the feeling like this type of fiasco will likely happen all over again. Sigh. show less

The rural NV library from which I read this had it shelved as adult.  Given that expectation, and given the subtle cover art, I was able to appreciate this a lot more than if I had breezed through it as 'just another issues book for kids.'  There's a lot here - exciting 'fugitive' adventure, the obvious theme of 'what do elephants mean to Jack?,' the discussion a classroom could have about whether a mom who abandons her kid is still worth his love, and whether Jack should have called Grandma or contacted the police right away... and there's more quiet & beautiful things in here that make it worth the time for an adult to savor, perhaps even reread.

This spare, well-written story of abandonment will hook the reader on the first page and never let go. Jack is an 11-year old boy who lives outside of Boston with his mom. The story begins as Jack wakes up after a night of camping in Acadia National Park. Jack is dismayed to discover that his mother, her tent and the car are all gone. As Jack begins searching for her, the author slowly reveals that Jack's mother suffers from mental illness, and that she has abandoned Jack in the past. Jack knows that if he enlists the help of adults, he may be taken from his mom, so his goal is to find her or make his way home alone. Despite his efforts, Jack comes across some interesting characters, some helpful, some not, as he makes his journey. You show more will love Jack's resourcefulness as he figures out how to eat, sleep and travel without being discovered by social services. Jack has always loved elephants, and the recurring theme about the gentle giants is sweet and interesting. Recommendations for readers who fall in love with this suspenseful, yet touching story would be The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate, and From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankwieler by E.L. Konigsburg. show less

Ever since Jack can remember, his mom has been unpredictable, sometimes loving and fun, other times caught in a whirlwind of energy and "spinning" wildly until it’s over. But Jack never thought his mom would take off during the night and leave him at a campground in Acadia National Park, with no way to reach her and barely enough money for food. Any other kid would report his mom gone, but Jack knows by now that he needs to figure things out for himself - starting with how to get from the backwoods of Maine to his home in Boston before DSS catches on. With nothing but a small toy elephant to keep him company, Jack begins the long journey south, a journey that will test his wits and his loyalties - and his trust that he may be part of show more a larger herd after all. show less

Book on CD performed by William Dufris
3.5***

Jack Martel and his Mom have gone on a camping trip to Acadia National Park over Labor Day Weekend – a last outing before school starts. But when Jack comes out of his tent on the first morning, he notices something wrong. His Mom’s car and tent are both missing. There’s no note and she never said anything about going somewhere. So where could she be? It’s not the first time his Mom has taken off, but in the past, he’s been at home in their Boston apartment. Now he has to travel across Maine on his own, with only a small plastic elephant in his pocket as a companion.

I loved Jack. He’s resilient, intelligent, resourceful and deeply loyal to his Mom. It’s clear that she suffers show more from mental illness – most probably bi-polar disorder – and Jack believes he needs to protect her (and himself) from authorities who would separate them. I like the way that Jacobson writes Jack. He’s a believable eleven-year-old kid, especially given his circumstance and experience being on his own and secretive about his situation. Of course, he does come across adults and other kids who help him … sometimes unwittingly.

I also appreciated the information about elephants that began each chapter. And how those tidbits related to what happened in the story. Although, Jack’s obsession with elephants seems like something a younger child would cling to.

This is classified as children’s fiction in my library system. I think some children might find this story distressing.

William Dufris does a fine job narrating the audio version, although I did think his interpretation of Jack’s voice made him sound younger than age eleven. show less

Jack wakes up on the first morning of their camping trip and finds that he's alone. Sure, there are other families on other campsites--but his mom is gone. And the car is gone. And her tent, and all their stuff. He tries to find a way to explain things (maybe she moved to a new site! Maybe she went for coffee!), but as time drags on, he knows that she's abandoned him. Maybe Jack can find his way back to Boston, or at least take himself on the one adventure he was hoping to have in Maine. He just hadn't planned on doing it alone.

I'm conflicted on this one. Solid storytelling, engrossing, a young boy you really do root for as he comes to understand that his mother is mentally ill and has been for a long time, and that this is NOT okay. show more He's resourceful, though there are a couple of particularly deus-ex-machina-y characters who help him out from time to time. I honestly don't know if I see this having much teen appeal; it's mostly a quiet character story with a bit of plot, not any sort of action-adventure-ness. It's almost an updated Homecoming without the siblings. I wanted more from this--more exploration of the mother's issues, more drama in Jack's journey, more of what happens after? I recognize that most of these things are sort of "Mike Mulligan's bathroom"--it's not a part of the story, so it doesn't matter. Still, they're things that I'd have liked to have seen. show less