The One and Only Ivan

I'll admit there was only one reason I picked up Katherine Applegate's novel The One and Only Ivan: that it had the gold Newberry medal plastered on its cover. I'm a sucker for checking out the Newberry winners. I don't have as much time to read these days so I knew the chance that I would read it myself was unlikely. After perusing what the book is about, I decided that Adam would be a captivated audience and asked if I could read it to him. He agreed and Noah started reading it with us before shaking his head and saying that he wasn't interested. (The funny part was when we were about 2/3 of the way into the book, Noah changed his mind and ended up being a big fan of the novel.)

Applegate wrote a novel inspired by a real gorilla named Ivan that lived in a cage in a mall for 27 years. She takes the true story and fictionalizes his journey from the mall to the zoo, exploring his life before the mall and giving him a voice. He is a lovable character and Applegate does a wonderful job tackling his feelings about his situation, which vary at different times in the book. It's a heartwarming story and one that makes for a nice read aloud. The chapters tend to be short, which made getting through a 300 page novel with (at times) two kids much more manageable. I recommend it for anyone looking for a nice read aloud for a child, the book states it's recommended for ages 8-12. (Of course don't let the age recommendations discourage you to pick up the book alone if you're interested in checking it out... it really is a cute book.)