Newbery Winner

The One and Only Ivan
by Katherine Applegate
Published by HarperCollins Publishers
Copyright 2012

Reading Level: Lexile level 570L, reading level 3.3

Suggested Delivery: Read aloud

Vocabulary: domain (7), shakles, ponder, lingered, precision, clutch, wily

Awards: John Newbery Medal 2013, Kind Wings Top Flight Award 2013 

"Ivan is an easygoing gorilla. Living at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, he has grown accustomed to humans watching him through the glass walls of his domain. He rarely misses his life in the jungle. In fact, he hardly ever thinks about it at all. Instead, Ivan thinks about TV shows he’s seen and about his friends Stella, an elderly elephant, and Bob, a stray dog. But mostly Ivan thinks about art and how to capture the taste of a mango or the sound of leaves with color and a well-placed line. Then he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from her family, and she makes Ivan see their home—and his own art—through new eyes. When Ruby arrives, change comes with her, and it’s up to Ivan to make it a change for the better. Katherine Applegate blends humor and poignancy to create Ivan’s unforgettable first-person narration in a story of friendship, art, and hope."- Amazon.com

This story is heartwarming, unforgettable, personable, sentimental, and understanding. Readers of all ages will be able to connect to Ivan's unforgettable journey and learn from his experiences. 

Pre-Reading Activity: The Atlanta Zoo website has a wonderful page about Ivan and his life in the Zoo. There's a video, facts, and stories about Ivan's life in the Zoo. Students can watch the video on the website's page before starting to read the story. Knowing that Ivan was a real gorilla can help spike students' interests in the story. 

During Reading Activity: As they students read they can think about the following questions, "If you were Ivan, how would you feel about where you were living?" "When Ivan his best friend, did he give up hope on saving Ruby?" "How would you feel? Would you still keep your promise?"

Post Reading Activity: After reading the story, students can be divided into small groups and asnwer some group discussion questions. Questions can include, "What did you think of the ending? Were you happy with it?" "Would you have changed anything in the story?" "If Ruby was no longer a character in the story would it change for you? Why or why not?"

Writing Activity: For a writing activity students can answer inferential questions about specific quotations in the book. The teacher can cut out 10 pages of the story and pick 2 of 3 quotes from that section. Students will then have to answer questions inferentially partaining to each quote. For example the teacher can take the quote, "Right now I would give you all the yogurt raisins in the world to have a heart made of ice," (page 114). Students can answer the question, "What does this tell you about Ivan's feelings? Explain what this means."

Electronic Resources: 

Zoo Atlanta: Celebrating Ivan
This is the website used as a pre-reading
activity. If students were interested, they 
can go to this website and see how Zoo 
Atlanta, Ivan's new home, celebrated his life
after he died in 2012. The webpage includes
facts about Ivan's life, the video of Ivan interacting with other gorillas, and pictures of Ivan as well.

The One and Only Ivan Book Trailer
This website can also be helpful to spark students' 
interest in the book. Complete with music, pictures 
from the text, and text to read this video can make
students feel like they are about to watch a movie
instead of reading a book. This is what caught my
attention to the novel and can be very helpful when 
grabbing students' attention to the novel as well.