#457 - The One And Only Ivan

by Katherine Applegate

“The One and Only Ivan” by Katherine Applegate. Published by Harper Collins. An incredible story of courage and friendship inspired by the true story of an extraordinary gorilla.

The narrative is in the voice of Ivan who is a Silverback Gorilla. He has been living in a cage in a shopping mall for most of his life. He likes to call his cage a domain. He hardly ever thinks of his early life with his family in the jungle. He rarely misses those times. He seems to have accepted that his life will be like this forever. He himself says that he has learned not to get his hopes up. His dearest friends are Stella the elephant who lives in another enclosure next to him and Bob who is a stray dog. Ivan likes to draw. He shares this interest with ten year old Julia who got him into it by giving him his first crayon. She is the daughter of George who works as a cleaner in the mall. Life goes on in a routine manner until a baby elephant called Ruby is added to their group. Ruby opens Ivan’s eyes and shows him that there might be another better way to live than be living like this. What can that be? Can Ivan ever get out of his cage? Can he help Ruby and make her life better than Stella and his own? Read the book to know how Ivan’s life changes after he meets Ruby and what does he do next.

The book is mind blowing! Both I and my nine year old couldn’t get over it. The writing style is fabulous. Narrating an entire story through the eyes and mind of a gorilla is so unusual. The chapters are like diary entries and brief. Each talks about a topic that Ivan wants to discuss from his perspective. We felt this makes the topics stand out. Some of the lines were so thought provoking. They left a lasting impression on us. To imagine what a gorilla must be feeling when kept in a caged enclosure has been imagined so well. We got a glimpse into the behaviour of a gorilla and the rationale behind that through the character of Ivan. The message that animals also think and are in no way inferior beings comes across very well. Freedom, friendship, courage, facing reality, accepting truth, standing up for each other and kindness are some of the themes which make up the story. This is surely a memorable book that we will treasure over the years. It is a “MUST READ” and deserves to be on everyone’s shelves. Whether one loves animals or not, this book is going to appeal to everyone. Two more books in the voices of Ruby and Bob have been written after this one by the author. We are looking forward to read them now. The book won the Newbery Medal in 2013. It has also been made into a movie by the same name. This was one of the nine books that I bought for my son’s ninth birthday. Thank you to Joanne Saldanha aka Myth Aunty for recommending this lovely book to us!

Recommended Age

The book is apt for children aged 9/10 and above.