Tag: the one and only ivan

Reading Children’s Books

*author’s note…this originally appeared on HamletHub Books, Ink in September 2015. 11 years ago. I am so lucky that I’ve been able to write about children’s books for the past almost 12 years and I’m excited to share more books with you.

A year ago (2014), I asked my friend Sally (editor of Books, Ink) if I could do a weekly column on children’s books. I read a lot of children’s books, had several favorites, a pile of books I wanted to recommend to readers and I wanted to read more. I didn’t have a big plan beyond that. I wanted to read good books to my children and I wanted to share those good books with other parents looking for something new to read.

Over the past year, I have revisited favorite characters. I dove back into stories from my childhood that I remember my mom reading to me. I read new books. I watched as my children found new favorite characters. I found a few characters who have been added to my list of favorites. I have read books that I didn’t expect to like and loved them. I have stepped outside of my “reading comfort zone” and I am so grateful for the wonderful authors and characters I have met along the way.

I learned a lot over this past year. Two lessons fight for top billing so I will address both of them. First, adults should read children’s books. I have learned so much from talking pigs and spiders and from a story told in first person gorilla. I have been disappointed in humans when shown through the eyes of an animal, my faith in humanity restored through the eyes of those same animals. I have learned to get beyond my adult notion that stories must be told by humans. Stories can be told by humans, animals, aliens, and the list goes on. I have learned that children and animals remind me of the things that matter most in life….the value of friendship, the power of a commitment, it’s ok to be afraid, try to be brave, and don’t forget to laugh. I hope that adults reading this column will read at least one of the children’s books I have recommended. I hope they will find that the stories are just as complex, just as powerful, just as moving as those written specifically for adults. Just because a story is written for a child doesn’t mean it is meant only for that age group. Often times, it means the content is appropriate for that age group while the lessons and issues the characters face are things with which readers of all ages can identify.

Secondly, I learned a lesson I hope to pass on to my children….Read because you love to read, read what makes you happy. I have heard that children who don’t love reading haven’t found the right book. I couldn’t agree more. Read a comic book, read a history book, read a science book, read a poem. Just read. Dive into whatever world interests you, explore it, meet the characters, go on journeys with them, share the book with your friends. Just read.

This year, I met many great characters. A gorilla named Ivan (The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate) is one who has left a lasting impression on my life. I talk about Ivan as a friend…my gorilla friend who lives in a book. My daughter and I have had many conversations about this wonderful gorilla, how much we loved getting to know him, friends we want to introduce to him by sharing the book, and that sometimes a book will make you cry….I admit I’m getting a little teary just writing about this book. I read it because my daughter recommended it to me with so much passion and excitement, I knew I needed to read it immediately. I dove in and couldn’t put it down. I read the acknowledgements. I read every last word inside that book cover. As, I read Applegate’s Newberry Medal Acceptance Speech, I found words that I knew immediately I needed to share when I wrote this piece on what the last year has meant to me:

“Every time you find the right, the necessary, book for a child — a book about sadness overcome, unfairness battled, hearts mended — you perform the best kind of magic. It doesn’t matter if it’s about a gorilla or a nuclear physicist, a puppeteer, a motherless girl, or a clueless fish. If it’s the right book, you’ve allowed a child to make a leap out of her own life, with all its limitations and fears — and yes, sometimes sadness — into another, to imagine new possibilities for herself and for her world.” – Katherine Applegate

I love this speech. Read a great book. Share it with a child. It might mean more to that child than you ever expected or imagined. Books from my childhood have stayed with me and continue to hold a special place in my heart. I am so grateful for those characters, those stories and to those who handed the books to me. 

I ask my children to just try when they read. Try a new author. Try a new genre. Try a new reading level. It might be a good fit for you, it might not. That is ok. Just try a book. You might get lucky and find one of those books that changes your life, the kind of book that you read a bit slower so it lasts longer, the kind of book that you finish and turn back to the first page and start again. Those books change lives, and for every reader, those books are different. Don’t hesitate to read a book because it isn’t an adult book or it isn’t a genre you normally choose. Pick up a book…a book with a pretty cover art, a book a friend recommended, a book I recommended, a book that has a Newberry Medal sticker on the front, a book that looks worn and loved…just try it. 

Thank you for joining me on this journey so far. I look forward to all the great books this next year will bring. If you have favorites I haven’t written about yet, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment. As much as I love recommending books, I love when others recommend favorites to me.

Loading

My Dear Old Friend, Ivan

*author’s note – this originally appeared on Books Ink in 2015 and “My New Friend, Ivan”. While I have reread this book many times, I wanted to revisit this review because you can’t reread a favorite for the first time again but I can remember how incredible that first read was reading this.

Every once in a while, a book comes along that changes you. It changes how you see the world; it touches your heart and opens your eyes. It makes you question things; it makes you think.  This week, I met Ivan, Stella, Ruby, Julia and George. Within moments of opening this book and diving in, I knew these characters would stay with me long after I finished this book. When I sat down to write this, I asked myself how many times I could use the words “brilliant,” “profound,” and “amazing” without them losing their power because this book really is that special.

“The One and Only Ivan” by Katherine Applegate is the story of a gorilla, named Ivan, and two elephants, Stella and Ruby, who live in cages in a shopping mall. Ivan was captured as a baby and was raised by the owner of the mall. Once he grew too large to live in the owner’s home, he was moved to a cage in the mall where he lived for twenty-seven years. Stella is an elephant who was bought from a circus. She too, is kept in a cage in the mall. Ivan is an artist who draws and later paints pictures that are sold in the mall. Stella is forced to put on a show performing tricks for the crowds every single day. Stella falls ill and the owners buy a young elephant to replace her. As Stella gets sicker, she asks Ivan, her dear friend to promise her that Ruby, the young elephant, will not spend her whole life in a cage. Ivan promises and although it seems impossible, he is determined to find a way to save Ruby.

Applegate introduces us to George and his daughter, Julia. George works cleaning the mall. Julia seems to understand Ivan in a way other humans don’t and Ivan finds a way to ask Julia for help. Despite the fear of losing his job, George helps Julia try to save Ivan and Ruby.

While I felt angry that humans could be so uncaring and hold an animal in a cage for 27 years in a mall, Applegate managed to restore my faith in the kindness of humans through George and Julia. While this book is written for children, it is one of the most brilliant books I have read. While Ivan’s words might seem simple, their meaning is so deep and powerful.

“I’ve learned to understand human words over the years, but understanding human speech is not the same as understanding humans.” – Ivan

Ivan reminds me of my other favorite talking animal in children’s literature…a wise spider named Charlotte. Like Charlotte, Ivan shows the reader what a true friend is.

Ivan was a real gorilla who lived in a cage in a shopping mall for 27 years. In that time, he never saw another gorilla. Thankfully, the real Ivan finally got moved to a zoo, and spent his final years with other gorillas. Although this book is fiction, it is inspired by the real Ivan.

This book will make you laugh. It will make you cry. It will make you angry. It will make you sad. It will make you smile. It will make you believe in friendship. It will make you believe in promises. It will make you think. While many adults may miss this profound book because it is on the children’s shelf, I wish copies would be kept in the adult section of every library as well, as I believe every adult should read it. While adults may get caught up in the fact that it is told in “first person Gorilla,” one needs to move beyond that and realize how powerful this book really is. The moment I finished reading my library copy of the book, I immediately went on amazon and ordered my own copy. This is a book I will reread many times over. It will join “Charlotte’s Web” on that shelf of really special, life changing books. I am so grateful my daughter recommended it to me to read, and I hope those of you reading this article pick up a copy and meet my favorite Gorilla, Ivan.

Ivan – the Shopping Mall Gorilla

“The One and Only Ivan” by Katherine Applegate is one of my top 10 favorite children’s books. I’ve written about this book before. I still have the same feelings I had then…how many times can I use profound, brilliant, and amazing without it feeling repetitive or unnecessary. Ivan’s story is one of those rare books that touches your heart in a way that profound and brilliant simply can’t be said enough about it.

Visiting the library this past week, I saw another favorite Ivan book that I previously shared here…Katherine Applegate’s “Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla.” I haven’t looked at this book since 2015, but I saw it and needed to revisit my old friend, Ivan. Yes, Ivan really did live in a shopping mall for 27 years. My heart hurts to think about this poor lonely gorilla trapped in a cage in a shopping mall for most of his life. The book begins and ends with the same line “In leafy calm, in gentle arms, a gorilla’s life began.” The story follows Ivan’s life from a tropical forest in Africa to a house in Washington, to a shopping mall once Ivan was too big to keep at home, and finally, to Zoo Atlanta where vets and scientists gave Ivan the closest life they could that tropical forest in Africa.

Books like these make the readers feel so many emotions. Readers of all ages feel frustration for Ivan, anger that he is held captive, relief when he ends up in the closest place to the forest (Zoo Atlanta). This is why I love a great children’s book. Initially a reader may wonder how they could possibly relate to a gorilla in a cage in a mall, but Applegate brilliantly shows the reader they can. Gorillas are incredibly intelligent animals who feel emotions like us. It is impossible to read this book and not feel a connection to Ivan.

Children will love that “The One and Only Ivan” is told in first person gorilla. The Ivan picture book is told by a narrator. Initially, I expected first person gorilla to make the book feel more childish, but it didn’t. It made me feel more of a connection to Ivan. It made me feel like I was stepping into his world and seeing it through his eyes. If you are interested in knowing more about the incredible Ivan, these videos show his life in a cage in a mall, his later life at Zoo Atlanta and more about his life.

A great children’s book doesn’t mean it is only written for children. It means the book is written appropriately for children BUT is a great book for readers of all ages. Visit the brilliant (yes, I’m using that word again) Ivan stories through both books and you will understand what I mean. I can’t recommend this book enough and I will definitely revisit my friend, Ivan, again soon.

The one and only bob

Last week, Katherine Applegate released “The One and Only Bob” which follows Bob, the dog, from “The One and Only Ivan.” Ivan became one of my favorite characters and I wasn’t sure what to expect as we journeyed into Bob’s story.

If you haven’t read “The One and Only Ivan,” it is based on the true story of a gorilla named Ivan who spent over 20 years living in a cage in a shopping mall. The story is told from Ivan’s perspective. When I first read it, it was my first encounter with a story in “first person gorilla” but Applegate managed to capture this trapped gorilla’s voice in a way that was both authentic and believable.

In “The One and Only Ivan,” Bob, a stray dog, finds his way into the mall searching for food and squeezes himself into the gorilla cage to steal a piece of banana. He succeeds but also finds a friend in Ivan. He remains at the mall with Ivan and Ruby, an elephant also held in a cage in the mall, until rescuers save the gorilla and elephant.

One of the employees, whose daughter Julia often visited Ivan, Ruby, and Bob, takes Bob home and he becomes a part of their family. We begin “The One and Only Bob” with Bob living with Julia and her family. Julia’s dad has a job at the animal sanctuary where Ivan and Ruby now live and Julia and Bob are able to visit them often.

Bob is a tough little dog who had a rough life prior to living with Julia’s family. The entire story is told from his perspective. While Applegate captured the voice of Ivan so brilliantly, she managed to capture the very different, but equally entertaining, voice of Bob perfectly. Bob shares his view of the world as only a dog could see it.

While I read and found myself laughing out loud at times, it was this passage that made me realize Bob’s view of the world was more than just sharing his story, it was words of wisdom from a smart little dog.

Dogs ain’t perfect. But I’ll tell you one thing where we rule: tolerance.

For us, a dog is a dog is a dog. I see a Great Dane, I say howdy. I run into a puggle, it”s Glad to meet ya, how’s it goin’, smelled any good pee lately?

Go to a dog park and you’ll see. We are equal opportunity playful. You sniff my rear, I sniff yours.

You don’t see that with humans, obvious.y Constantly seeing differences where none exist. All those things like skin color? Dogs could care less. You think I won’t hang with a dalmatia ’cause he’s spotted? Or a sharpei ’cause she’s wrinkled?

I’m not saying I love every dog I meet. (Snickers comes to mind.)

But I’ll always give a dog the benefit of the doubt. Life is short. Play is good. And there are plenty of tennis balls to go around.

While it is challenging for many second books to live up to the first, “The One and Only Bob” is a great second book. Applegate’s talent for bringing animal voices to life is incredible and believable. Pick up a copy of “The One and Only Bob” to see what happens with all the incredible characters in “The One and Only Ivan.” You will laugh, you may shed a tear, you will be reminded of the importance of true friendship and perseverance.