"Paper Things" Provides Middle-Grade Readers With An Intimate Account Of Child Homelessness

CUMBERLAND, Maine - Feb. 10, 2015 - PRLog -- With as much adventure and emotion as her award-winning novel Small as an Elephant, Jennifer Jacobson’s new novel, Paper Things, presents the story of 11-year-old Ari who when forced to choose between staying with her guardian and being with her big brother, choses her big brother. There’s just one problem—Gage doesn’t actually have a place to live. Set in a fictitious Maine town, Paper Things is Jacobson’s newest juvenile fiction title.

“This story allowed me to think deeply about the kids I worry about – those without a foundation of support or those who, for one reason or another, lose it,” says Jacobson of Paper Things. “There are so many children with potential, and yet they fall through the cracks.”

Paper Things received a starred review from School Library Journal, which states, “This novel will engender empathy and understanding of a serious and all-too-real problem. Jacobson’s story is poignant but never preachy.”  According to Voya magazine, the leading library journal dedicated to the needs of young adult librarians, Paper Things is  “Powerful... It is well written, with a moving plot, and is told in an authentic voice that pulls the reader in. ... Jacobson tells a story that is authentic and relatable to a wide audience of readers.”

Paper Things is available today from publisher Candlewick Press and all major bookstores. In addition, Jacobson will sign books at an event on March 5 sponsored by Portland, ME Longfellow Books, which will donate a portion of each sale to Preble Street to support its work creating solutions for homeless, hunger, and poverty.

About Jennifer Richard Jacobson

Jennifer Richard Jacobson is a writer, teacher, educational consultant and speaker. She writes in many genres, from children’s fiction to adult nonfiction. Among her books for younger readers are the Andy Shane early chapter books, illustrated by Abby Carter, and Small as an Elephant, which won both the Maine Lupine Award for Young Adults and a Parents’ Choice Gold Award. Jennifer lives in Cumberland, Maine. For more information about her, or to schedule her for a visit to your school or library, visit http://www.jenniferjacobson.com.

For interviews, promotional copies, or other media inquiries, contact:

Alison Harris, Harris Media Services
207.829.4500
alison@harrismediaservices.com

Jacket Copy from Paper Things

When Ari’s mother died four years ago, she made Ari promise that she and her older brother, Gage, would stay together always. So when Gage decides he can no longer live with their bossy guardian, Janna, Ari knows she has to go with him, even though they don’t have an apartment yet. Instead, Gage and Ari “couch surf,” crashing with friends or sneaking into shelters to escape the cold Maine nights.

In all this chaos, there is one thing that gives Ari comfort: her Paper Things. She knows she’s too old to play with the paper people she’s cut out of magazines over the years, but it’s nice to pretend to have a big, happy family and a house with a room all her own. Of course, it would be better if she didn’t have to pretend.

From the author of Small as an Elephant comes a heartrending novel of a homeless kid hiding in plain sight — and the people who help her out along the way.

"Paper Things"

Publisher: Candlewick
Pages:376
Price (Hardcover):$16.99
Publication Date:February 10, 2015
ISBN (Hardcover): 0763663239