Small as an Elephant by Jennifer Richard Jacobson

Small as an Elephant by Jennifer Richard Jacobson

Jack Martel has been abandoned and is now on the run.  He needs to find his mom before anyone else, or he will most definitely be taken away.

On a camping trip in Acadia National Park, Jack wakes up one morning to find that his mother has packed up her things and left him in the middle of the night.  You might think that is unusual, but unfortunately for Jack, she has done this before. In an attempt to find his mom, Jack's adventures lead him across the state of Maine ending at an animal park, and a chance meeting with, Lydia, the elephant that motivated him through some of his most darkest times.  Along the way Jack meets a variety of characters that assist him on his journey.  As the news of a runaway boy spreads, and the search for him intensifies, Jack has to determine which of these characters he can trust, and who might turn him in to social services.  After some close calls, potentially dangerous situations, and very hungry nights, Jack finds some allies in some most unlikely places.

Jennifer Richard Jacobson certainly took a different angle toward this adventure story.  Jack is not your typical runaway, and probably would not have made it as far as he did, had it not been for similar experiences with his mother in the past. Her certainly had to be resourceful. I still had a hard time figuring out what was wrong with Jack's mom.  She had some kind of mental illness that caused her to abandon her son.  It seems that whatever it was, it was explanation enough to excuse her from responsibility for what she did. Fortunately for Jack, as he matures along his trail, he starts to realize the resources that have been put in place to help him.  I wonder how many kids in Jack's shoes never realize who the people are that want to help. For some reason they don't see it, don't want to see it, or have told so many times that there is no help.

The Ledge: Experience a wonderfully dangerous adventure

THE LEDGE by Jim Davidson and Kevin Vaughan.
An adventure story of friendship and survival on Mr. Rainier.

In July of 2013 my family and I took a trip to Seattle, Washington.  We went on many different tours during our stay, but hiking 7,200 feet up Mt. Rainier was one of the most exciting things I have ever done.  The pictures and video in this blog are just a sample of the views that we encountered during our days on the Mountain.  Even though we only climbed about halfway up Mt. Rainier's 14,409 foot peak, we were close enough to appreciate the effort it would take to climb to the top. We could actually see groups of mountaineers on their way to and from the summit. We joked about the next time we visit, that we would go all the way to the top, so my sister-in-law bought me the book, The Ledge, by Jim Davidson and Kevin Vaughan as a Christmas gift.  After reading about Jim Davidson's harrowing adventure on his summit climb in 1992, I have a new understanding, and renewed respect for what it would take to me to summit Mt. Rainier and survive.

Jim Davidson and his friend, Mike Price were expert climbers.  Together they had climbed some of the most difficult mountains in North and South America. They were a team, and their experiences made them as accomplished as climbers could be, but as a team, they had yet to conquer one of the prized summits in the United States, Mt. Rainier.  In this narrative, Jim Davidson takes the reader back to his days working with his dad as a specialty painter on structures like bridges, high voltage power stations, and high voltage transmission towers.  His experiences working under such strenuous conditions, became the groundwork for other adventurous endeavors including climbing and mountaineering.  As Jim and Mike finally conquer the summit of Mt. Rainier, tragedy strikes, and Jim is required to rely on every lesson his father has ever taught him, pushing his physical and mental limits, in order to get off the mountain alive.

I have read a few books about survival such as Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, Avalanche by Arthur Roth, Everest by Gordan Korman, and a few others.  First of all, this book is nonfiction. It is a true narrative about Jim's survival.  Secondly, it is very recent, and my experience on Mt. Rainier made his story seem so much more believeable. Text to self connections are some of the easiest thinking strategies kids can make.  The problem is that they often are so literal and rarely promote further thinking.  Consider reading a book set in a place that you have visited, or even one set in your hometown.  Think about how your text to self connections might promote higher level thinking.  What if you read a murder mystery that took place at Menominee Park? How would your thinking be different than if the setting was somewhere you didn't know?