The One and Only Ivan

[Lucelia]

The One and Only Ivan has a cute story about a Gorilla named Ivan. I had a hard time zoning in to the book at first. It seemed to be going quite slow, but then it picks up and soon I was wondering what on earth would happen next. The story is told in Ivan’s perspective and I like how he does a lot of comparisons between humans and animals. Too many times I have heard that everything humans touch, we destroy, and this includes animal cruelty. Well, I believe that sometimes humanity does focus and spends so much time and energy in things that make business grow that we tend to forget about other things that are important or like those who cannot voice their expressions out. This book gives the teacher and students an opportunity to be aware of this topic as well as discuss about it.

[Paula]

As a teacher, I loved reading Ivan to my class of third and fourth graders. The story is based on a real gorilla named Ivan who lived in a shopping mall. The author also wrote a biography of the real Ivan complete with photos. When it was time to teach narrative nonfiction, I used the book as the perfect jumping off point.