Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla
by Katherine Applegate
Publisher: Clarion Books, NY (Oct. 2014); Hardcover, 40 p.
Age Range: KG-3 Lexile: 620
Geographical Setting: Congo, Washington, and ZooAtlanta
Time Period: Contemporary
Summary:
In light of the recent release of the movie adaptation on Disney+, Ivan’s story has become popular again. “In spare, moving words and evocative illustrations, Newberry medalist Katherine Applegate and artist G. Brian Karas present the extraordinary real account of a special gorilla.”
Taken from his home in East Africa (now Congo) as an infant, Ivan spent his first three years as a human child thousands of miles away in Tacoma, Washington.
After he grew too big, his new home became a cage in the local mall, where he watched TV, finger painted, and watched people watching him.
A Mom for Umande by Maria Fasal Faulconer.
A baby gorilla is cared for and loved by its human zookeepers until a surrogate can found because his own mother is too young. (KG-3)
Owney, the Mail-Pouch Pooch by Mona Kerby
- Alex the Parrot: No Ordinary Bird by Stephanie Spinner. An African gray parrot bought by a graduate student in 1977 for the purpose of a scientific experiment. Shocking everyone, Alex learned math, how to recognize shapes, size, and colors, to speak and understand hundreds of words. (KG-3)
- Finding Winnie: the True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear by Lindsey Mattick. The story of how Captain Harry Colebourn (a veterinarian) rescued a baby bear in Winnipeg, Ontario and cared for him while traveling to England during WWI. While there, they befriend a boy named Christopher Robin. (KG-3)
Fiction Read-A-Likes:
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate. Written before the picture book for older readers, Applegate creates an idyllic world at the Mall for Ivan and his friends. However, when Ruby, a baby elephant arrives, she reminds Ivan what has been taken away from them. Winner of the 2013 Newberry Medal, the 2012 California Book Award for Juvenile (Gold), and the 2014 Pennsylvania Young Readers' Choice Award for Grades 3-6. (Grades 3-6)
The One and Only Ivan: It's Showtime! by Colin Hosten. This Level One I Can Read Book is based on the live action movie streaming on Disney+. Full of simple words, short phrases and live-action stills, it's a great way to introduce early readers to Ivan. (KG-3)
The One and Only Ivan: New Friends by Colin Hosten. This Level One I Can Read Book is based on one special moment of the movie now streaming on Disney+. Full of simple words, short phrases and all new original art done watercolor. (KG-3)
To Learn More about Ivan:
(1993, Oct. 17). A Gorilla Sulks in a Mall as His Future is Debated. New York Times. This is the article that caught Applegate’s attention and her subsequent love for Ivan leading her to publishing the books. Gorilla in a Mall
Hutchinson, Chase. (2020, Aug. 20). Disney is taking a crack at ‘The One and Only Ivan.’ Here’s the real Tacoma story. The News Tribune. This article is full of information about Ivan’s story. Links to other articles and sites, this article has photos and videos of Ivan while at the Mall and ZooAtlanta. Disney+ is streaming Ivan's story
GorillaFund.org: Founded by zoologist Dian Fossey who spent her life studying Rwanda’s mountain gorillas and advocating for not only their protection, but for their habitats and surrounding communities.
NationalGeographic.com: The documentary The Urban Gorilla can be found here as well as pages of other information about gorillas and their natural habitats.
ZooAtlanta.org: A slide show of Ivan of his twenty years at the zoo along with detailed information about its western lowland gorilla population is contained on this site.
Applegate, Katherine. (2014). Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla. NY, Clarion Books.
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| Ivan admiring flowers in his new home at ZooAtlanta. |
Sobia,
ReplyDeleteI have read The One & Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate, but was not aware that there was this nonfiction picture book companion! I will definitely have to check it out from the library! Did you know Katherine Applegate just published a sequel, The One & Only Bob this past May? I haven't read it yet, but am looking forward to doing so.
I loved how you included an actual photograph of Ivan as well as all of the links to websites to learn more about him.
I'm adding some of your read-alikes to my to-read list. The one about the mail room dog reminded me of the library cat, Dewey. There are a few books about Dewey (an early chapter book, adult book, and picture book) all by Vicki Myron.
These seem like such interesting books on specific animals.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to see how differently humans have treated animals over the years.
The illustrations look really good.
I've not really heard much about any of the books you mentioned but they look like great books to share with children who like to read about animals.
Hi Sobia,
ReplyDeleteI read The One & Only Ivan for one of my MLIS classes last year. I found the book to be pretty graphic in its descriptions of Ivan's and the other animals' treatment, so I have avoided watching the Disney+ adaptation and reading this nonfiction book. However, from your description and the examples you showed, it seems like this book is tamer and directed toward a younger audience. Was the graphic information absent or minimized in this version, and if so, do you think it still has the same impact?
This version and the live action movie are very different from the realistic fiction version of the book. I preferred that version over the movie as did my daughter and son who also read the book. Most of the graphic descriptions are not part of this nonfiction book or in the movie. In fact, the movie took many liberties that were not in the book at all and changed many things. I honestly believe the fiction version should be considered nonfiction, but isn't because the animals 'talk' to each other.
ReplyDelete