August Book Review

Each month I plan to showcase a novel or book and do a review.  My idea is to pick out books that are great to read as a family out loud, or for elementary students to read on their own.


This month I read the book, The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate. I have seen this book around the book stores and heard that it was a great read, so I finally picked it up to see what all the buzz was about.  It did receive the Newberry Medal so I knew it had to be a good read at the very least.

Mrs. Sieh's Rating: 4/5 stars

The story:  Ivan is a pretty easy going gorilla that lives in a shopping mall.  He was raised by humans and has spent most of his life looking through a glass window at people.  Memories of his natural habitat are vague so he is pretty content spending his days eating, painting or drawing, and watching people.  Ivan is not alone at the mall however.  There are other animals like Bob the stray dog that sneaks in at night to nap on Ivan's stomach because it's warm.  There is Stella the elephant and later a baby elephant named Ruby.  All have an interesting story about how they came to the Big Top Mall.  All yearning for something more than what is behind the enclosures.  Ivan makes a promise to Stella to help Ruby.  Help make a better life for her than what the rest of them have lived.  So Ivan starts thinking about the possibilities and tries to come up with a way that will change them all. 

The Review:  This is a fast read. Very short chapters and written all from the voice of Ivan. It took me a little while to get into the story. It seemed rather simple at first, almost basic. I started to ask myself why this was such a popular or widely talked about book. As the story went on I started to really feel empathy for the animals kept in this enclosure. This made me question zoos. However the difference between the animals in this book and zoos are that zoos are meant to have animals in their natural habitat. There are veterinarians that constantly watch over them and care for them.  Ivan, Bob, Stella, and Ruby became a family which is where the story pulls at your heartstrings. As the story went on, I discovered the love for the book that many readers have found which probably gave it The Newberry Award. There is much sadness in The One and Only Ivan, but also love, and a feeling that animals live a life very similar to humans. 

We read this story as a family for our nightly read aloud and my girls, age 4, loved it so I strongly encourage you to read this story with your family no matter what age they are. 

August Book Review