The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate Reviewed by Molly Pollock

Summary: The One and Only Ivan is a story about a gorilla with a heart made of gold. Ivan is the star of the circus until one day a baby elephant named Ruby comes to the zoo. As Ruby settles in, Stella, and older elephant starts to take care of Ruby as if she were her Daughter. While time goes on Stella starts to get very sick and doesn’t know what will happen with Rubie. One night though, Ivan makes a promise for Stella. He promises that he will make sure that Rubie has a different life than her. He promises that Rubie will not be stuck in a cage for the rest of her life. As Stella sadly passes away that evening, Ivan realizes that this promise will be hard to keep. However, he has an idea. Since drawing is something that makes Ivan feel free, he decides to draw one word that may be able to free Ruby. “Home.” Even though most don’t know what Ivan has drawn Julia can always interpret what he is trying to say through his drawings. Julia is a little girl that comes to the mall often with her Father. With the help of the animals at the zoo, Julia, her father, and protesters will they all be able to help free Ruby?

Middle School Pilar: In the story, I think that Ivan shows the pillar courage. I think this is because even though not many people know what his drawings are, he wants to stick with what makes him feel free and keep his promise to Stella. This is courageous! I also believe that Stella showed a lot of courage by trusting Ivan to do what’s right and leave Ruby's life in his hands.

A Similar Read: A similar read to the One and Only Ivan is Charlotte's Web because Charlotte, the spider that lives at the farm knows that Wilbur is going to die because he has been raised for slaughter. She knows if Wilbur was a famous pig he wouldn’t die. She has an idea to weave praises of Wilbur in her web because she has compassion and wants to save him. This story is very similar to Julia and Ivan because Julia also has compassion for Ivan and realizes what he is really trying to say without him actually saying it.

My Rating: I give this book 5 stars because I really enjoyed how this book had a roller coaster of emotions. I especially enjoyed the part of the book when Ivan made the promise with Stella. I loved how I was excited to read what was going to happen next with Ivan and Ruby but it was also very interesting to imagine what could happen next.