The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate (MG Book Review)

 

The One and Only Ivan
(The One and Only Ivan #1)
Written by Katherine Applegate
Illustrated by Patricia Castelao
Published by HarperCollins
on January 17, 2012
Genre: Children's / Middle Grade
Length: 307 pages
Ages: 8 - 12 years

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Literary Awards:
California Book Award for Juvenile [Gold] (2012)
Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Middle Grade & Children's (2012)
SCBWI Crystal Kite Member Choice Award for CA/HA (2013)
Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award Nominee (2014)
Pennsylvania Young Readers' Choice Award for Grades 3-6 (2014)
Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award Nominee (2015)
Oklahoma Sequoyah Award for Children (2015)
Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award Nominee (2015)

Synopsis:
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 life in the jungle. In fact, he hardly ever thinks of it at all. 

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. 

Katherine Applegate blends humor and poignancy to create Ivan's unforgettable first-person narration in a story of friendship, art, and hope. 

My Thoughts:

The One and Only Ivan is an old silverback gorilla that lives in a small habitat inside the Exit 8 Big Top Mall off I-95 along with a few other animals that include an elephant named Stella and a stray dog named Bob. When the owner buys a baby elephant to add to the mall, Stella asks Ivan to make a big promise, to save Ruby from the same fate as them. 

Told from Ivan's point of view, this anthropomorphic story is incredibly heartwarming (and a little tearjerking) and even more so that it's based on a true story! There really is (was?) a silverback gorilla named Ivan that was enclosed within a mall and loved to paint, just as the Ivan in this story did. 

This is a beautiful tale of friendship and selflessness. Ivan seems to be content with his life, but once Ruby comes into the picture, he realizes he wants more for her and sets about doing what he can to help save her.

This was an incredible story! I'm almost kicking myself for not reading it sooner! 

I read this for the 52BookChallenge for the 'book mentioned in another book' prompt. It's mentioned multiple times in The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart.

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