Jacobs has won the Alba Bouwer Prize twice (in 2007 for Wurms met tamatiesous en ander lawwe rympies (Worms in Tomato Sauce and Other Silly Poems), and 2019 for Moenie hierdie boek eet nie (Don't eat this book)), as well as the C.P.

Hoogenhout Award (2006–2007) for Wurms met tamatiesous en ander lawwe rympies, the Tienie Holloway Medal in 2018 for Grom!

was released in South African cinemas in 2014, and in 2017 his novel Oor 'n motorfiets, 'n zombiefliek en lang getalle wat deur elf gedeel kan word (published internationally as A Good Night for Shooting Zombies) was adapted into a feature film, titled Nul is nie niks nie.

His young adult novel 'n Goeie dag vir boomklim (published internationally as A Good Day for Climbing Trees) was chosen as one of the winners in the In Other Words competition, sponsored by the British Book Trust.

[5] A Good Day for Climbing Trees was longlisted for the Carnegie Medal,[6] and subsequently published in Dutch by Uitgeverij Ploegsma and in Italian by Rizzoli Libri.