The One and Only Ivan

The One and Only Ivan

By Katherine Applegate

354 ratings 462 reviews 471 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: Thorndike Press Large Print
ISBN-13: 9781432864033
ISBN-10: 1432864033
Published on 3/13/2019
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 340

Book Reviews (446)

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K8 K8

this story was sooo sweet and sad I finished it in one day I can not believe the ending I might spoil some parts so don't read on if you don't like spoiling the book is about a gorilla in captivity at a mall that can paint and then this little Elephant turns his whole life upside down eventuly he gets put in a zoo where he meets some new gorillas but since he has been in captivity all his life he doesn't know how to be a gorilla then he figures things out as they go along and he misses The elephant (Ruby) sooo much then the caretakers put a TV so that he could see how Ruby was doing
astronaut astronaut

I finished this book in one day because I loved it so much.
room_one room_one

This is one of my all time favourite books - I cannot wait to read this with you!
starlene starlene

this is a good book i love it
dfahey dfahey

I want to read this book because I saw one of my friends say this book is so good so I decided I wold see it for myself.
starchild starchild

You should really read this book it's so sad
mgruening mgruening

I love this book!!! It is fantastic!!!
What his face What his face

Amazing book isn't it every one
Smiley Shelby Smiley Shelby

I think that this book is awesome sad cool and charming I really like the part when Julia has Bob in her back pack and Bob poped out to talk to Ivan at the zoo where Ivans new home is.
artisticabby artisticabby

this was a really fun book to read
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