The Littlest Elephant: A One and Only Ruby Story

by Katherine Applegate, Lita Judge (Illustrator)

From the Newbery Award-winning and bestselling author of the modern classic One and Only series comes a gorgeous picture book introducing young listeners to Ruby, the beloved baby elephant.

Ruby is the littlest elephant in the herd at the animal sanctuary, where she lives near her best friends Ivan the silverback gorilla and Bob the lovable mutt. Ruby loves all the things that make being an elephant fun, like splashing in muddy puddles and spraying water through her trunk. But there are parts of being an elephant that she doesn’t love so much, like her new tusks.

The herd is preparing for Ruby’s Tuskday, a day to celebrate the fact that Ruby is growing up, and for remembering. Ruby has lots of happy memories, but she also has lots of sad ones, ones that are hard to think about. Surrounded by the love of her herd and her friends, the littlest elephant will see that growing up doesn’t have to be scary, and that remembering the darkness can help us appreciate the light.

This beautiful and poignant story shows listeners the importance of honoring the past, cherishing the present, and facing the future without fear.

Genres: Picture Books

32 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication March 17, 2026

About the author

#1 New York Times bestselling author Katherine Applegate has written many books for young readers, including THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN, winner of the 2013 Newbery Medal.

Katherine’s picture books include THE BUFFALO STORM, illustrated by Jan Ormerod (Clarion Books); THE REMARKABLE TRUE STORY OF IVAN, THE SHOPPING MALL GORILLA, illustrated by G. Brian Karas (Clarion Books); SOMETIMES YOU FLY, illustrated by Jennifer Black Reinhardt (Clarion Books); and ODDER: AN OTTER’S STORY, illustrated by Charles Santoso (Feiwel & Friends).

She’s written or co-written three early chapter series for young readers: ROSCOE RILEY RULES, a seven-book series illustrated by Brian Biggs (HarperCollins); DOGGO AND PUPPER, a three-book series illustrated by Charlie Alder (Feiwel & Friends). With Gennifer Choldenko, she co-authored DOGTOWN and MOUSE AND HIS DOG, illustrated by Wallace West (Feiwel & Friends).

Books for middle-grade readers include HOME OF THE BRAVE (Feiwel & Friends); THE ONE AND ONLY series, illustrated by Patricia Castelao, including THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN, THE ONE AND ONLY BOB, THE ONE AND ONLY RUBY, and THE ONE AND ONLY FAMILY (HarperCollins); the ENDLING trilogy (HarperCollins); CRENSHAW (Feiwel & Friends); WISHTREE (Feiwel & Friends); WILLODEEN (Feiwel & Friends); ODDER (Feiwel & Friends); and the forthcoming POCKET BEAR (Feiwel & Friends).

With her husband, Michael Grant, Katherine co-wrote ANIMORPHS, a long-running series that has sold over 35 million books worldwide. They also wrote two other series, REMNANTS and EVERWORLD, and a young adult novel, EVE AND ADAM (Feiwel & Friends.)

Katherine’s work has been translated into dozens of languages, and her books have won accolades including the Christopher Medal, the Golden Kite Award, the Bank Street Josette Frank Award, the California Book Award Gold Medal, the Crystal Kite Award, the Green Earth Book Honor Award, the Charlotte Zolotow Honor Award, and the E.B. White Read Aloud Award. Many of her works have appeared on state master lists, Best of the Year lists, and Publishers Weekly, USA Today, and New York Times bestseller lists.

Katherine lives in Nevada with her husband and assorted pets. She is represented by Elena Giovinazzo at Heirloom Literary and Mary Pender at WME.