Title: Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla

Author: Katherine Applegate

Illustrator: G. Brian Karas

Publisher: Clarion Books

Year: 2014

Word Count: 566

A few years ago I read the middle grade novel The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate. I couldn’t help but fall in love with Ivan, the inspiring shopping mall gorilla, and his baby elephant friend, Ruby. So when I saw that Ivan’s story had been converted into a picture book, I had to read it.

Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla follows Ivan from his birth in central Africa to his “rebirth” so to speak, at Zoo Atlanta. I love books that give the reader the sense of having come on a full circle journey, and that’s exactly what author Katherine Applegate gives us here with her beautiful beginning and ending. Ivan’s story begins like this:

In leafy calm,

in gentle arms,

a gorilla’s life began.

The accompanying illustration depicts baby Ivan in the arms of his Momma Gorilla. The assonance of the words flows nicely off the tongue for a read-aloud and lends itself to the calming scene described. The following pages introduce the reader to Ivan’s family, or troop, and his life as a baby gorilla, playing and learning from the older gorillas.

But quickly, the scene changes. Poachers come on the scene, kidnapping Ivan, then shipping him in a damp crate to Tacoma, Washington where he spends years in a cramped cage in the middle of a shopping mall. With the passing years, people grow angry about Ivan’s isolation. They begin writing letters, signing petitions and holding protests to secure his freedom. Their efforts are rewarded when Ivan is released and sent to live in Zoo Atlanta — a place with grass, trees, sunlight, and best of all, other gorillas. The book ends in almost the same way that it began:

In leafy calm,

in gentle arms,

a gorilla’s life began

again.

The repetition of the opening line at the ending of the book really gives the reader the sense of completion. At the start, Ivan was in the arms of his mother. Now, the gentle arms caring for him are those of the scientists and zoo caretakers who understand the needs of a gorilla and are there to help him adjust to his new life. While clearly this isn’t the same as being in his natural habitat, it’s a beautiful ending to the story of a gorilla that endured much suffering and cruelty at the hands of unkind humans.