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The One and Only Ivan

The One and Only Ivan

Author: Katherine Applegate
Illustrator: Patricia Castelao
Genre: Fiction
Award: Texas Bluebonnet Award, John Newbery Medal
Grade: 3rd grade and up


Ivan is a gorilla who lives in a stationary circus. He is so used to his life in the circus that he does not care anymore when humans watch him. He does not miss his life in the jungle anymore because he grows accustomed of the life in the mall. Most of the time, Ivan thinks of art, such as the banana peel, the leaves color and etc. Ivan is closed friends with bob the stray dog and an elephant name Stella. One day he meets a baby elephant name Ruby. Ruby was taken from her family and she showed her art works to Ivan. When Stella passed away due to infection, Ivan promised to her that he will take care of Ruby and he will not let Ruby live in that captivity. One day, Ivan got a hold of paint given by Julia and painted a drawing of Ruby and it went famous and in the billboards. The claw-stick appeared on TV and protesters emerged. They finally were transferred to the zoo and each of them came back on their own home/species.


I really like this book because it promotes awareness of maltreatment of animals. They are not supposed to be treated badly and that they should be taken care of. They should be put to where they belong instead of caged in. I recommend this for 3rd grade students and up because it teaches about friendship and hope. Ivan promises Stella the elephant that he will take care of her and not let her stay on captivity, which was fulfilled. The story teaches about perseverance and determination. I highly recommend this book to those who are animal supporters and to those who value friendship. The illustration in this book is very like graphic or digital drawing. It is a full-color collector’s edition; therefore, it is big and consists of character digital drawings.

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