A Hare in the Elephant's Trunk

by Jan L.. Coates

Overview

2011 Governor General's Literary Award for Children's Text Nominee

Independent Publisher Book Award Silver Medalist, 2011

2011 Skipping Stones Honor Award winner

On the 2011 USBBY Outstanding International Books honor list

Ann Conner Brimer Award for Children's Literature finalist, 2011

2011 Snow Willow Award nominee

A 2012 "Woozles' Battle of the Books" Elementary List Title

A 2012 "Woozles' Battle of the Books" Teen List Title

When civil war strikes Jacob Deng's Southern Sudanese village, seven-year-old Jacob embarks on a seemingly endless journey that tests his courage and determination. His wise mama tells him that he must one day go to school to seek answers and help carve a better future for his people. Wadeng is a Dinka word meaning "look to the future, it will be better; follow your dreams", and it, along with his precious "Mama stone", becomes Jacob's talisman of hope, helping him remain strong on his seven-year search for a place of refuge.

Jacob and his young friends are confronted with war, starvation, dehydration, raging rivers, crocodile and lion attacks, and the evil Majok - the constant thorn in Jacob's side - as they struggle to survive on their own. As the boys work and grow together as a family, surviving in harsh conditions, against the odds, Jacob's boyhood desire to become a soldier wanes. Gradually, he comes to the realization that fighting doesn't improve anything and begins to embrace his mother's belief in education as the road to peace and stability. Inspired by the real life experiences of a Lost Boy of Sudan, this novel is about an extraordinary journey of courage, perseverance, and hope.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780889954519
Publisher:	Red Deer Press
Publication date:	09/30/2010
Edition description:	Original
Pages:	292
Sales rank:	981,802
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.40(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Jan Coates is a Red Deer Press author.

Editorial Reviews

"Inspired by Jacob Deng's true story, Coates writes vividly and poetically, establishing a clear historical context for her inspirational tale."
— Kirkus starred review

"Young readers will find admirable qualities in Jacob, as he perseveres through months of thirst, hunger, bloody wounds wrapped in leaves, walking many miles from grasslands through blistering sand, and escaping ravenous crocodiles while crossing rivers to reach safety. The author includes interviews and a glossary that further explain how the story came to be written. This book puts into perspective the peace and educational opportunities that readers enjoy."
— Foreword Magazine

"Teens will be moved by the unsparing survival story and the climax, when Jacob learns to read."
— Booklist

"A Hare in the Elephant's Trunk is an incredible story. . . As a compelling story of the lives of war-affected children, it certainly has a place in middle-school.
Highly Recommended."
— CM Magazine

"An important and well-written story. Jan Coates takes the reader deep into the lives of children dealing with the uproar of war and terror - a strong reminder that the world needs to do better."
— Deborah Ellis

"Jan Coates has succeeded wonderfully with A Hare in the Elephant's Trunk. She gives the reader an uncomfortably vivid sense of what it must be like to lose one's home and family, to wander aimlessly through a bleak and blasted landscape, in constant danger of starving or being shot. Such desperate circumstances could have led her young protagonist, Jacob, to become bitter, to resort to violence himself. And, working with such material, Coates could have written a very dark and despairing sort of book. But both the author and her characters rise above the situation and find in it an unexpected wealth of humour and humanity and hope."
— Gary L. Blackwood, author of The Shakespeare Stealer, The Great Race, The Just-So Woman, and Second Sight

From the Publisher

Gr 8 Up—In 1987, seven-year-old Jacob Deng's world explodes into chaos and confusion; his village in Southern Sudan, Duk Padiet, is attacked and destroyed by the Northern militia. The boy is suddenly left to wander the continent on his way to a refugee camp in Ethiopia and, later, Kenya. Jacob does not, however, wander alone. He is one link in a "never-ending chain" of boys. Lions, malaria, guns, and war threaten these "lost boys" at every turn. Throughout his tremendous and harrowing journey, Jacob thinks about Mama and strives to find those things that will lift him from the murk of war and tumult. And he learns to read. This novel, based on the life of the real Jacob Deng, provides insight into the struggles of the Sudan as well as a strong, clear voice. Coates gives an unflinching and poetic glimpse into the life of a boy who chose hope in the face of adversity. An interview with Deng is included.—Naphtali L. Faris, Youth Services Consultant, Missouri State Library, Jefferson City, MO

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