The One and Only Ivan

The One and Only Ivan

By Katherine Applegate

350 ratings 457 reviews 467 followers
Interest LevelReading LevelReading A-ZATOSWord Count
Grades 4 - 8Grades 2 - 5T3.626263

Winner of the Newbery Medal and a #1 New York Times bestseller!

This stirring and unforgettable novel from renowned author Katherine Applegate celebrates the transformative power of unexpected friendships. Inspired by the true story of a captive gorilla known as Ivan, this illustrated novel is told from the point-of-view of Ivan himself.

Having spent 27 years behind the glass walls of his enclosure in a shopping mall, Ivan has grown accustomed to humans watching him. He hardly ever thinks about his life in the jungle. Instead, Ivan occupies himself with television, his friends Stella and Bob, and painting. But when he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from the wild, he is forced to see their home, and his art, through new eyes.

The One and Only Ivan was hailed as a best book of the year by Kirkus, School Library Journal, and Amazon, demonstrating it is a true classic in the making. In the tradition of timeless stories like Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little, Katherine Applegate blends humor and poignancy to create Ivan's unforgettable first-person narration in a story of friendship, art, and hope. An author's note depicts the differences between the fictional story and true events.

Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN-13: 9780061992254
ISBN-10: 0061992259
Published on 1/17/2012
Binding: Hardcover
Number of pages: 320

Book Reviews (442)

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queenm queenm

The One and Only Ivan is about a yogurt loving gorilla who got taken away by humans when he was a infant. He has lived in a mall ever since. What interested me was how a gorilla lived in a mall for so many years, has the life that he has. Ivan cannot remember what his life was like as a infant accept for drawing and playing with his sister Tag. He does not even remember what grass feels like. In the mall that Ivan lives in is a huge place where people go all the time with cotton candy, and of course playing video games and shopping. I isn’t just Ivan along the way, there is is only best friends he can remember of and those friends are Julia, his human friend, Bob, his stray dog friend, Stella, his elephant friend and Ruby, his baby elephant friend. Along the way, Ivan has this plan, a plan that is going to get himself, and Ruby out of the mall and into a zoo.
awesome4ever awesome4ever

this is the best and saddest book that i have ever read in my life. i love it. i strongly recommend this book for anyone that likes sad stories and for anyone that likes gorillas, elephants, e.t.c
Book23 Book23

I liked this book
hdavis03 hdavis03

I was in a book club and they wanted us to read it, it turned out to be a really good book.
aratte aratte

It is an amazing book for any animal lover.
SooSoo SooSoo

it was sad
cutiepatuty cutiepatuty

I so wanna read this but first I must get a box of tissues!
hunter16 hunter16

so sad
ellen ellen

well i cried as well its so sad to me .lol
lia06 lia06

So far The One and Only Ivan is pretty interesting to me. I like that the janitor's daughter gives him crayons to draw with,that is very kind of her to do.
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