The One and Only Ivan

A heartwarming tale of friendship and bravery, The One and Only Ivan is a tale that people of any age would be happy to hear. A story told from the first-person perspective of Ivan, an old gorilla living in an enclosure at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade. Although the mall was once a popular spot, attendance has dwindled and money is tight. The mall's owner, Mack, knows that he needs to do something big before he loses all of his money. 

All of a sudden, a new animal has arrived at the mall—a thin, wrinkly elephant named Ruby. She is young and has a lot to learn, but the animals help her make sense of her new home. When tragedy strikes and Stella, a wise and loving elephant, dies Ivan knows that he needs to protect Ruby and find her a better life. Using his art skills and his keen ability to understand humans, Ivan concocts a plan to save Ruby. Unknowingly, his plan saves all of the animals at the Big Top Mall. 

This story, although aimed for children, is one that anyone can relate to. The author, Katherine Applegate, has an ability to broach serious topics with great wisdom and bursts of humor that make the subject of misunderstanding animals approachable and understandable. 

Best for students in upper-elementary and middle school, this book serves several great purposes in the classroom. It is a historical-fiction novel, so it models the way an author has taken a true story and morphed it into a story that's written from a gorilla's perspective. This is a great writing example for students that may be having trouble coming up with ideas for their writing pieces, as writing from the perspective of others is a great strategy! 

Additionally, there are a lot of hidden meanings in this book. The author uses prose to get her point across, but does so as efficiently as possible. This leaves a lot of the information to be discovered, which I think is a great way to get students involved in the book. Students can predict what will happen next in the story, discuss what they think has already happened to the animals in the story, and decipher what the author means by certain phrases that she uses. 

I also think that this would be a great way to introduce persuasive writing in a classroom. Students can choose a side of the issue in the book—whether they are for the animals to stay at the Big Top Mall or whether they feel as though they should be moved to a different place—and argue in favor of it, practicing citations and supporting their argument with evidence from the text. 

Overall, I thought that this was such a touching story and one that any child would want to read. It serves several purposes in the classroom, aside from the fact that it is an enjoyable read, and I believe that it would be a wonderful addition to a classroom library! 

The One and Only Ivan 
By: Katherine Applegate 

Published in 2012

Winner of the 2013 Newberry Medal