The One and Only Ivan

 

The One and Only Ivan

Author: Katherine Applegate

Publisher: Scholastic

Age: 8+

Content: None

Romance: 1/10 Small talk of Ivan having a girlfriend at the end of the book

Genre: Contemporary

Rating: 9/10 

Characters: Ivan, Stella, Bob, Ruby

Summary: Ivan is an easygoing gorilla. Living in a shopping mall, he has grown accustomned to humans watching him through the glass walls of his domain. He rarely misses his life in the jungle. In fact, he hardly ever thinks about it at all. Instead, Ivan thinks about TV shows he's seen, his friends Stella and Bob, and painting 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. When Ruby arrives, change comes with her, and it's up to lvan to make it a change for the better. 

Final Thoughts: Great kids book for animal lovers! Boys will probably appreciate it more than girls, but both ages would love this book! For older readers, you can be turned off at the beginning, but it is interesting at the end.