Small as an Elephant

Title: Small as an Elephant
Author: Jennifer Jacobson
Copyright: 2011
ISBN: 978-0763641559

"Small as an Elephant" by Jennifer Jacobson is an unusual novel.  Librarians can't seem to decide where to shelve the book!  Typically where we put a book is pretty cut and dry, novels are either written for children, adults, or teens.  Right? Normally.  However, with "Small as an Elephant" there is no consensus.  I am reviewing it because the book is intended for children ages 9 and older, and it won the 2012 Lupine Award at Reading Round Up today in Augusta. 

At the Norway Memorial Library we shelve "Small as an Elephant" in the adult fiction section due to content.  Many parents might be unhappy if their child happened to stumble upon this book.  It deals with mental illness, bipolar disorder, and the strength of a child.  Lets be brutally honest for a moment, mental illness is everywhere.  As Jennifer Jacobson mentioned in her speech this afternoon, "there is no extended family that has not been affected by mental illness.  The question is not why did I write a book about mental illness, but instead why not?" 

There are not many children's books that deal with this topic yet the news is telling us that more and more children suffer from a variety of mental illnesses including depression, anxiety, bipolar, and schizophrenia disorders.  In "Small as an Elephant" a young boy wakes up in Acadia National Park realizing that his mother was gone, the car was gone, and she didn't bring him with.  However, Jack knows that his mother has always been unpredictable and he is sure that if he can only find his mother he can make everything right. 

This speaks to the intrinsic belief of children, everything is about them, and they can fix everything.  In order to protect the only family that he has (his mother).  Jack sets off to make his way home to Boston with only a small toy elephant in his pocket.  Jack might find the elephant, but he can't solve his mothers underlying problems. 

Don't be an adult who is afraid of reality.  I dare you to give this to any tween reader.  It is brutally honest, absolutely age appropriate, and a beautifully written story.  Plus it won an award, that must mean it is good right?