The One and Only Ivan
Katherine Applegate (2012)
“Based on the true story of a gorilla who spent 27 years in a shopping mall, told in his own quiet, devastating voice.”
At a Glance
Ivan is a silverback gorilla who has lived for twenty-seven years inside a cage at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade. His domain is a concrete enclosure with a tire swing and a small TV. He shares the mall with Stella, an aging elephant, and Bob, a stray dog who sleeps on Ivan's belly. When a baby elephant named Ruby arrives and Stella makes Ivan promise to find Ruby a better life, Ivan rediscovers his gift for art and uses his paintings to expose the truth of their captivity — ultimately winning freedom for himself and Ruby at a real zoo.
Read full summary →Why This Book Matters
Won the 2013 Newbery Medal. Based on a true story that helped catalyze the modern animal welfare movement. One of the most successful middle-grade novels to center animal consciousness without anthropomorphism. Adapted into a Disney+ film in 2020. Has become a classroom staple for teaching empathy, perspective, and the ethics of captivity.
Diction Profile
Informal, deliberately spare — short declarative sentences with occasional bursts of poetic observation
Low