Book Recommendation: THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN by Katherine Applegate

First off, a quick heads-up: Brianne Johnson of Writers House will be here this Thursday for an interactive interview, so if you have a question for an up-and-coming agent at a fantastic agency, come back and ask it this Thursday, August 23! And now on to the book recommendation...

I’ve never read a book funny enough to make me laugh and poignant enough to make me cry on the exact same page*. Now I have.

THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN chronicles the ho-hum life of the title character, a full-grown silverback who was captured in the Congo as an infant and raised to adulthood in a strip mall. He’s one of the main attractions at a small roadside circus and, like the other animals at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, resigned to live out his days with his crayons, his TV, and a stuffed gorilla named Not-Tag (after his twin sister, who didn’t survive the trip to America). Then a new inhabitant comes to Big Top, a baby elephant named Ruby, and neither Ivan nor the other animals are content to watch Ruby grow up behind bars.

As with so many of the other MG novels I’ve recommended, the thing I loved best about THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN was the voice. Ivan’s narration--yes, the entire book is told from his perspective--was pitch-perfect and spot-on. You know how young kids can describe things in the purest, simplest way possible and let you draw your own conclusions? So can Ivan. And the things he describes will both melt and anger you.

Inspired by a true story, Ms. Applegate’s latest is at once heartbreaking and heartwarming. It is the sort of book you’ll want to reread every so often so you don’t forget. It is the sort of book you want to read out loud with your kids so they don’t miss one word.

*That page, if you’re wondering, was from the chapter called “Picasso.” It was my favorite chapter in the whole book.