The One and Only Ivan

by Katherine Applegate

“I’ll tell you what happened,” Bob says darkly. “They captured her and put her in a box and shipped her off and here she is. Just like they did with Stella.” He pauses to scratch an ear. “Humans. Rats have bigger hearts. Roaches have kinder souls. Flies have—”

Slowly she makes her way over to Ruby. “Humans can surprise you sometimes. An unpredictable species, Homo sapiens.”

Growing up gorilla is just like any other kind of growing up. You make mistakes. You play. You learn. You do it all over again.

I soon learned that humans can screech even louder than monkeys.

“Come on, Ruby.” Mack is almost pleading. “What is your problem?” “She’s exhausted,” I say to myself. “That’s the problem.” Mack groans. “Idiot elephant.” “Idiot human,” Bob mutters.