THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN
by Katherine Applegate
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Based on 1 Google Books ratings
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About This Book
Ivan is an easygoing gorilla. Living at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, he has grown accustomed to humans watching him through the glass walls of his domain. He rarely misses his life in the jungle. In fact, he hardly ever thinks about it at all. Instead, Ivan thinks about TV shows he’s seen and about his friends Stella, an elderly elephant, and Bob, a stray dog. But mostly Ivan thinks about art and how to capture the taste of a mango or the sound of leaves with color and a well-placed
Our Review
Ivan narrates his own story here - a silverback gorilla who's lived for years behind glass at a rundown mall called the Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, watched by shoppers who treat him like part of the decor. His voice carries the book: spare, plain sentences that notice small things, the taste of a mango, the sound of leaves, and mostly avoid dwelling on the jungle he barely remembers. His closest company is Stella, an aging elephant, and Bob, a stray dog. HarperCollins publishes this Newbery Medal winner in hardcover for ages 8 to 12.
What makes Ivan's narration land is the gap between how plainly he describes his situation and how clearly a reader can see it isn't okay - a gorilla who thinks mostly about television and rarely about the wild is, quietly, the saddest detail in the book. His talent for art becomes the thread that eventually pulls his story somewhere better. The book doesn't shy from real sadness before it earns its hopeful ending, which makes it a natural opener for a conversation about captivity and animal welfare with a kid who's ready for both the sadness and the hope.
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