Small as an Elephant by Jennifer Richard Jacobson

Candlewick Press, 2011. ISBN 9780763641559.
(Ages 10+) Highly recommended. Jack loves elephants. They are his favourite animals, but when he and his Mum are on their way to the Seawall Camp Grounds and his Mum refuses to let him see Lydia, the elephant in Maine, it causes an argument. The next morning he wakes up to find he is all alone.  His Mum had taken everything except him and his stuff.  Abandoned by his Mum and really far from home he decides to wait, thinking that she'll have to come back in a few days or he'll miss the first day back at school. He knows she is always doing strange things but she always comes back and that is why he waits. When she doesn't come back he decides to walk home and so he starts the long walk home with nothing but a small toy elephant as company.
This book was great. I just couldn't put it down, I really felt sorry for him. Jack is definitely one brave kid at just eleven years old. He didn't take the easy way out like most people would. This book brought tears to my eyes at the end but it was still a great book.
Tahlia Kennewell (Sudent)