From the Publisher
Editorial Reviews
Review
Kirkus Reviews Best of Children’s Books 2012
Amazon 2012 Best Books of the Year, Middle Grade
Chicago Public Library Best of the Best 2012
New York Public Library 100 Books for Reading and Sharing, 2012
Cybils shortlist, 2012 middle grade fantasy (Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers’ Literary Awards)
Texas Bluebonnet Award, 2013-14 Master List
2012 Nerdies Book Award, middle grade fiction
Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews:
“How Ivan confronts his harrowing past yet stays true to his nature exemplifies everything youngsters need to know about courage.”
Starred Review, School Library Journal:
“The characters will capture readers’ hearts and never let go. A must-have.”
Starred Review, Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books:
“Extraordinary.”
“Discover an animal hero that will take his place with other courageous and beloved animals such as Babe, Mrs. Frisby, Charlotte and Wilbur. Adults reading this aloud with children will find it just as rewarding.”
–Shelf Awareness
“The best book of 2012.”
–John Schumacher (Watch. Connect. Read. blogger and 2014 Newbery committee member) and Travis Jonker (School Library Journal blogger, 100 Scope Notes, and 2014 Caldecott committee member)
“Beautifully written, intelligent, and brave book…Quite simply, this story is life-changing.”
–Patricia MacLachlan, Newbery Medalist, Sarah, Plain and Tall
“The One and Only Ivan will break your heart–and then, against all odds, mend it again.”
–Gary D. Schmidt, Newbery Honor author of The Wednesday Wars
“Kindness and its ability to change lives shines through on every single page of this book.”
–Kathi Appelt, Newbery Honor author of The Underneath
From the Author
From the Back Cover
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 line.
Then he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from her family, and she makes Ivan see their home—and his own art—through new eyes. When Ruby arrives, change comes with her, and it’s up to Ivan to make it a change for the better.
Katherine Applegate blends humor and poignancy to create Ivan’s unforgettable first-person narration in a story of friendship, art, and hope.
About the Author
Katherine Applegate is the Newbery Medal-winning and #1 New York Times bestselling author of numerous books for young readers, including the One and Only series, the Endling series, Crenshaw, Wishtree, the Roscoe Riley Rules chapter books series, and the Animorphs series. She lives with her family in Nevada.
Juli Catlin –
This story is very heartfelt on building your own loved ones into an often unique family. I bought my 10 yr old granddaughter a copy and she had come up with the idea of reading good books together across the many miles we are apart. So we chat long distance on our reads. It is extra special to me that it was her idea to have our own book club discussing this and other good books. Now on to our next fourth great book.This book is thoughtful on animals in low level sideshow type captivity and finding a real home with the other animals and the good caregiver and his daughter. We both enjoyed our time with Ivan. Now half the adult family wants to read our next book and discuss. It is also fun to find a new book and send her our next read. It is fun to find top books for age appropriate fun. The other new family members can join us but they get to buy their own copies!
Lynda –
Age appropriate read and offers a good perspective to readers. A good third grade reader had no challenges. Book offers up things to talk about.
N A –
I love this book. I think everyone else will also. I really enjoy watching the kids read this book sometimes to themselves but, also when they read it to their pets. It gets them excited to read.
James Sparks –
This book won the Newbery Medal for Children’s Literature in 2013, and it was much deserved. Here’s what the book has going for it:1. The Targeted age of the reader: In recent years people have complained that the Newbery Medal was being awarded to books that were for an older demographic, like older teenagers. I’m not sure I agree with that, because when you read the earlier Newbery Medal books you can tell by the vocabulary and subject matter that the intent has always been for these books to enrich the young reader regardless of age. With that said, Ivan is a book that has a slightly younger age group in mind. Which is important as it will introduce the young reader to great stories spurring them on to try to read more Newbery Medal books.2. The story is based on a true story. Ivan was real! The main parts of the story are true. This would be a great school book for a young, say 5th grade, class to read, and then research the true story. A simple Google search will turn up all kinds of information about the real Ivan, pictures and all. In turn this information could be used in projects and presentations.3. I love the characters! I truly enjoyed getting to know every character presented in the story. From the animals to the humans, each one has a great personality that I really enjoyed. My two favorite characters were the young girl, Julia and the dog, Bob. The author could easily write more books about Ivan, and Julia and Bob.4. The illustrations are nice, and very contemporary.What I didn’t Like:1. The book is separated out, but not into chapters. I wish she had done that.I really felt a “Charlotte’s Web” vibe to this book. The plot and characters have some similarities that just made the book overall enjoyable to read.I recently heard that Disney has bought the movie rights to this story, and I hope that’s correct. It would make a great movie!
Chris O –
I remember a lot of excitement around The One and Only Ivan when it was released and later won the Newbery Medal (along with numerous other awards). As a result, it made it on my “to read” list…it just took me a while to get around to it.From a high level, there’s an element of being “based on a true story” in that there was a real Gorilla on a billboard and in a less than happy zoo-life in an mall. There some opportunities for editorializing as we learn about the hunting and capture of animals and of the treatment of some animals…but mostly this is definitely a fictional account. That said, there are elements that are harshly real and could certainly trouble young readers (even though it is geared towards younger readers).Part of the hook, as you’ll find early on, is that the book is narrated by Ivan, the gorilla. Ivan is a gorilla who was captured young and has virtually no memory of life outside of captivity. Through Ivan’s eyes we see his understanding of himself and his world increase as he interacts with and observes friends/neighbors (an old elephant named Stella, a stray dog named Bob, a baby elephant named Ruby and the humans outside his enclosure). Ivan has a very unique voice that is sometimes heart wrenching, some times frustrating and often endearing. The author creates a wonderful voice of innocence, simplicity and curiosity.The main plot felt predictable to me at times but did have a few unexpected twists and turns that made me smile. And even as the plot moved along as I expected it to, I found myself enjoying the journey thanks to the wonderful narrator and the great characters. Even the human zookeeper, who you might think we are supposed to despise, was created in such a way that you feel compassion for him and the struggles he’s going through. Although this story is told from the point of view of the animals, it is a wonderful exploration of emotions, kindness and human nature (or any other creature). Most of the “animal” stories that kids (and adults) interact with these days are slapstick silliness without getting into any depth. Ivan goes more than just skin deep and really stirs your thoughts and emotions.Sitting at around 300 pages, this could be a daunting read for a young reader and may be something worth reading aloud with them rather than having them read solo (especially because of the tragic elements in the story) but the simple narrative style makes it a fast and easy enough read that most grade-schoolers should be comfortable reading.Overall I really enjoyed this book and recommended it to my daughter as a reading book for her free reading time in class. The story is filled with humor, loss, growth and learning. All in all, it’s a good read and makes me want to seek out more from Applegate.****4 out of 5 stars
kab –
A really good book to read.
Estee –
Best book to read to small children of all ages.
Our small family’s most beloved book. The whole series is amazing. Best gift to give for a bay shower, even the whole set.Does not disappoint. Read from the viewpoint of the people and animal’s in the book. Best ever stories!!!!All ages would love this book. I so enjoyed reading THIS one over and over. Make it fun, I used different voices for all the characters. Kept my sons busy mind focused. And they go off to sleep wonderfully.
Dev –
No animal deserves to be held captive
The One and Only Ivan presents a great story to read. Author has described every character in great detail and since characters were animals that were kept in a domain, I could feel as if I was in the same domain as Ivan, the hero of our story. Though in most part of the story Ivan was in his confines but if you read the book with interest you can see the story progressing. The story overall looks very plain kind of unexciting but on the other hand since Ivan possesses a completely different view of everything including humans this makes the story interesting. At places the story is somewhat confusing and makes it difficult to understand but on the other places the story is filled with emotions of joy, grief and funny too. The story delivers a great message that no animal deserves to be held captive and also the story ends with the happiest and the most heartwarming ending. I would like to thank Kathrine Applegate for writing such an amazing story.
LEONARDO MARQUES MIRANDA –
Splendido libro
Splendido libro per bambino . Rilegato bene , caratteri grandi e la storia è entusiasmante . Consigliato per i bimbi . Niente da dire .
Jane eyre –
A heartwarming tale.
Never judge a book by its cover – I did. The cover is charming and is the reason I was drawn to it.I must admit, it took me a little while to get into the book. It is written in an unusual way – very short paragraphs of one or two sentences, which at first felt disjointed. But bear with it.The story is told from the point of view of Ivan, a silver-back gorilla who is kept in a cage ‘domain’ in a shopping mall. He watches as life passes him by along with his few companions. He has trouble remembering anything much from his past and relies on Stella the elephant to do this. One day a new baby elephant arrives and she begins to change Ivan’s outlook.This is a charming story, providing an interesting insight of how life might be if you were a captive gorilla. Its a tale of friendship, determination and hope. It as a joy to read and would appeal to older readers who are interested in animals (it is based on some true facts) and protecting them.
arturo baltazar –
Un libro para toda la familia
Compré este libro para mis hijos (de 10 y 12 años). Yo lo empecé a leer y no lo pude soltar!Es un cuento hermoso de un Gorila (Ivan) que vive en una jaula en un centro comercial.Ivan no recuerda su vida fuera de su jaula y desde ahi acepta su alrededor y trata de entender a los humanos. Pero algo pasa y los cambios llegan.Ivan es el que cuenta el cuento asi que el vocabulario que usa es muy simple pero al mismo tiempo muy profundo. Es un excelente libro para toda la familia.