I found this book at my school's book fair this week and bought it, wondering what a book told by a gorilla in the first person would be like. Well...much like Charlotte's Web, an all-time favorite of mine where talking animals are the main characters, The One and Only Ivan was amazing!
Ivan is a silverback gorilla who is the main attraction at The Big Top Mall and Video Arcade. He's not the only animal there--there is a talking parrot, Stella the elephant, and Bob, a dog who is a stray but who loves Ivan and sleeps with him at night while making himself scarce during the day. In a desperate attempt to bring more people to the mall, a baby elephant named Ruby appears and Stella, an older female, is so excited to have a baby to care for. But when Stella dies and Ruby is left alone, Ivan is faced with a problem: how does he make his promise to Stella for Ruby to have a better life a reality? Ivan is no ordinary silverback and he quickly hatches a plan, a plan that you will have to read the book in order to find out. I will ruin nothing here because it's quite spectacular.
There are a few humans in this novel: Mack, who runs the mall, George, who cleans the mall, Julia, George's daughter, and Maya, who we meet towards the end of the book. But they are all secondary characters to the animals.
This book is truly a gift and if you've ever read Charlotte's Web and loved it, The One and Only Ivan should be on your list of must-reads. This book makes me wish I was still teaching full-time so I could add it to my read-aloud rotation.
Happy reading, everyone!
:)Dodie
