Skip to main content

THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN by Katherine Applegate



copyright date: 2012
primarily marketed for: young readers (3rd-5th grades)

“In cheering for Ivan and his friends, we cheer for our own humanity, and our own possibilities.  Read this.”
-Gary D. Schmidt

“This beautiful, life-affirming story will soar directly from Ivan’s heart into your own.”
-Kathi Appelt

“A Beautifully written, intelligent, and brave book.  Quite simply, this story is life changing.”
-Patricia MacLachlan

These are the quotes found on the back of this book.  Enough said, right?

Nope.

Even these powerful words don’t begin to explain how special this book is.  I want to purchase this book for everyone I know.  I believe this book is the new Charlotte’s Web.  It is that good.

The One and Only Ivan is the story of a gorilla who is kept in captivity at a highway-side mall/zoo.  His cage consists of glass walls, a jungle mural, and a cement floor.  Ivan’s story is based on the story of an actual gorilla, which just makes it all the more heart-wrenching to read.

The story is told in Ivan’s voice:
It’s hard to put into words.  Gorillas are not complainers.  We’re dreamers, poets, philosophers, nap takers.

Ivan’s main struggle comes from being kept in captivity.  Mostly, Ivan is able to accept the circumstances of his life.  He has friends that include an elephant named Stella, a stray dog named Bob, and young girl named Julia (the caretaker’s daughter). 

However, when a baby elephant is added as a new spectacle, Ivan and his friends start to look at examine their lives through new eyes. 

Although, Ivan wants to do something to change things, his options are limited.  A caged gorilla does not have many resources.  (Although neither did a certain pig and spider we all know and love…)

At times this book is desperately sad, but it is ultimately a book about finding strength in friendship, in stories, in words, and in humanity.  Read this book.

Comments

  1. We really DO share a book brain! I just ordered this last week and am awaiting the arrival of my copy with even MORE anticipation since reading your review!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I want to read it next!-Dalton

    (it took me a whileto figure out how to comet without having to sign up!)

    ReplyDelete
  3. You said it was wonderful. I read it. I agreed. I told a kid. He's reading it. And so it goes...one kid, one book at a time, you are changing the world.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I HUNT KILLERS by Barry Lyga

copyright date: April 2012 primarily marketed for: young adults (high school) I’m just going to put this out there:  I like books about death.  I didn’t know this about myself as a reader until my students this year pointed out how many of the books I booktalk (basically all of them) involve someone who died or someone who is dying. I am not sure if that is just a me thing, or if that is a common thread in books since it is such a major part of life and conflict.  I’d like to think it is the latter. At any rate, I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga , is obviously my kind of book—it is quality literature with sophisticated vocabulary, and it is about death.  Jasper Dent, known as Jazz, is a teenager who is struggling to overcome the odds, to say the least.  His father, Billy Cornelius Dent, is the most infamous serial killer, with victims totaling triple digits.  Since his father’s arrest, Jazz has had to care for his grandmother ...

JAKE AND LILY by Jerry Spinelli

copyright date: May 2012 primarily marketed for: intermediate readers (8 and up) This is another book for younger readers.   So, although the time you spend actually reading Jake and Lily by Jerry Spinelli won’t be long, the time this story spends traveling around in your heart will be immeasurable. Spinelli is a master at getting straight to the heart of what keeps people from accepting one another: differences.   Through the story of young twins Jake and Lily, he tells a story of tolerance, acceptance, and ultimately friendship.   Jake and Lily have a very special relationship.   They are able to connect with one another through dreams and across distances.   In fact, as they write their stories for us in alternating chapters, they don’t even need to read to know what they other has written.   Conflict settles into their lives when growing up threatens to come between them.   As Jake begins to spend more time with a g...

NOTHING SPECIAL by Geoff Herbach

copyright date: May 2012 primarily marketed for: young adults (12 and up) This is Geoff Herbach 's sequel to Stupid Fast and continues Felton Reinstein’s story in true Felton fashion.   This is definitely a smart guy book—a book for smart guys, who definitely love a good chuckle. The story opens at the end of summer with Felton typing a letter to his girlfriend Aleah while flying in an airplane on his way to retrieve his younger brother from Florida.   The entire book is written as one giant letter to Aleah explaining how his summer led him to this moment in time.   After Felton and his brother Andrew got some help with their mother’s issues, Felton went right back to throwing himself into football and track—because he is stupid fast.   However, Andrew did not cope quite as well as Felton did.   Felton ignores his brother’s cries for help and continuously lets him down.   His brother ends up cooking up an elaborate plan to run ...