THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN

“One day, a still day when the hot air hummed, the humans came.”
~ Ivan, page 128 in THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN

THEONEANDONLYIVAN600 IVANBACKCOVERMiddle Grade/Chapter Book Fiction
Age Range: 8-12 years
Grade Level: 3-7
HarperCollins Publishers
Text copyright © 2012 by Katherine Applegate
Illustration copyright ©  2012 by Patricia Castelao

AWARDS

2013 Newbery Medal
2012 Christopher Medal
Gold Medal in Juvenile Literature 2012 California Book Award
Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators 2013 Crystal Kite Award Winner
#1 New York Times bestseller
School Library Journal Best of Children’s Books 2012
Kirkus Reviews Best of Children’s Books 2012
Amazon 2012 Best Books of the Year
Middle Grade Chicago Public Library Best of the Best 2012
New York Public Library 100 Books for Reading and Sharing
2012 Cybils shortlist
2012 middle grade fantasy (Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers’ Literary Awards)
Texas Bluebonnet Award, 2013-14 Master List

2012 Nerdies Book Award, middle grade fiction
Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews
Starred Review, School Library Journal
Starred Review, Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

WHY THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN IS A KEM GEM

KKRISTI’S TAKE
Grab the box of tissue. THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN, inspired by a real gorilla named Ivan, will change your perspective, forever! In this illustrated novel told from the point-of-view of Ivan himself, Katherine Applegate has taken the tried and true, “when a stranger comes to town” plot, and authentically created heartache, humor and heroics. Ivan, in and of himself, is remarkable; he creates art. When Ivan meets Ruby, a needy baby elephant, he confronts his fears in order to help his peers. This reflective story about a silverback gorilla’s humanity has a silver lining that will leave you shining.

Like the novel, Patricia Castelao’s drawings are extraordinary, simple, yet, sophisticatedly rendered.

Favorite line
“Someday, I hope I can draw the way Julia draws, imagining worlds that don’t yet exist.”

KEM Sapphire
E
ELISE’S TAKE
Katherine Applegate of ANIMORPHS fame has a reputation for weaving humans and animals in unique ways. Her latest narrative combines human emotion and dialogue into the lives of a great silverback and his unlikely collection of friends in the Big Top Mall. Applegate incites sympathy for every one of these characters, not just the indicted performers. We learn to see that the stray dog, the janitor and his daughter, and even the animal trainer have both good intentions and their own personal heartbreaks.

Through quiet, bite-sized chapters, we experience these relationships, the losses each individual has suffered, and the hopes he or she clings to. Although each vignette is packed with emotion and sensory detail, each is also concise enough for readers to digest a little or a lot in one sitting, perfect for a reluctant or busy reader.

Favorite line
“Because she remembers everything, Stella knows many stories. I like colorful tales with black beginnings and stormy middles and cloudless blue-sky endings. But any story will do.”

KEM Diamond
MGrayMARRAS’
 TAKE
This fictional treasure, based on the captivity of Ivan, a real-life silverback, evokes compassion and empathy for all creatures, great and small.

The extra white space formatting of Applegate’s thoughtful text and Castelao’s moving illustrations calls readers into a deeper contemplation of Ivan’s lonely and desperate experience. This gorilla memoir made me feel the bankruptcy of the collapsing infrastructure and the human flaws and frailties surrounding Ivan and his companions. I cheered for Ivan while he thrived as a primate art prodigy and again, when he rediscovered his true nature as protector.

I’m a better human for having experienced life through Ivan’s eyes.

Thanks to Katherine Applegate and Patricia Castelao for following their creative natures to assemble this poignant story of love and self-worth.

Favorite line
“Humans always smell odd when a change is in the air.  Like rotten meat, with a hint of papaya.”

GEMrub

The One And Only Ivan Book Trailer by Katherine Applegate

Please share your One and Only Ivan comments, too!

KIRA-KIRA

KiraKiraMiddle Grade Fiction
Age Range: 10-14 years
Grade Level: 5-9
Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Text copyright © 2005 Cynthia Kadohata
Cover photo copyright ©  2004 Julia Kuskin
Book design by Ann Sullivan
Jacket design by Russel Gordon

 AWARDS

2005 John Newbery Medal
ALA Notable Children’s Books
Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature
Blue Spruce YA Book Award Nominee (CO) Booklinks Lasting Connections
Booklist Editors’ Choice
CCBC Choices (Cooperative Children’s Book Council)
California Collections Capitol Choices List (DC)
Charlotte Award Suggested Reading List (NY)
Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award Master List (VT)
Garden State Teen Book Award Nominee (NJ)
KSRC Middle School Titles – Top Pick
Kiriyama Prize Notable Book NYPL
“Books for the Teen Age” Nene Award Master List (HI)
Pacific Northwest Young Reader’s Choice Award
Master List Thumbs Up! Award Master List (MI)

WHY KIRA-KIRA IS A KEM GEM

KKRISTI’S TAKE
Cynthia Kadohata’s KIRA KIRA is a shining example of a contemporary book for young readers that delves into the prejudices Japanese American kids experienced post-WWII. The first person prose reads simplistically, pointedly and often contains vignettes that feel like they have been torn straight from a journal. A journal, much like Katie Takeshima’s sister’s diary. Kadohata accomplishes this authenticity through her details that always foreshadow, from the first line, all the way to the last line. There’s just enough, but not too much. This mastery of careful observation is also evident in Kadohata’s characters that leap from the page, both perfect and imperfect. I found myself wishing for a sister, just like Lynn, even if it meant experiencing illness and loss, because in the end, the glimmering gift of hope endured.

Favorite line
“I keep her diary in a drawer next to my bed.”

KEM Sapphire
EELISE’S TAKE
Katie Takeshima may struggle to find themes in her assigned readings for school, but the themes of persistence, sacrifice, and love clearly permeate her narration. Kira-Kira is described as the Japanese term for glittering or shining, and Kadohata’s writing truly shines when she slows down to reveal a conversation, a car ride, or a family meal. I found myself rushing through Kadohata’s frequent summarizations to get to her next fully realized scene. Kadohata doesn’t focus explicitly on discrimination in this mid-century novel, nor does she leave it out. This Japanese family is not called names or physically harmed, but neither are they included in regular society or given equal opportunities in their Deep South neighborhood. The topic is subtle (often the case with discrimination). In the end, however, familial love and service outshines the community’s prejudices.

Favorite line
It was as if the house were healing Lynn. That made me love the house even more than I would have anyway.

KEM Diamond
MGrayMARRAS’ TAKE
For me, a novelist hits a home run when their story makes my laughing tears co-mingle with my sad ones. Cynthia Kadohata hit a homer. Her first- person novel, KIRA-KIRA, seems so genuine, you’d swear she’d written a memoir as a youth. Kadohata welcomes readers into the intimate and difficult lives of the Japanese-American Takeshima family as their middle child, Katie, grows from a 5 year old in the 50s into an adolescent in the 60s. Kadahota covers the topics of family, work, reproduction, friendship, marginalization, and death with such naïve, thoughtful, and inquisitive candor, I came away feeling like Katie Takeshima truly lived and breathed as my quirky childhood friend.

Favorite line
When Uncle Katuhisa knocked on the door, I made him give me a password. He said with irritation, “Open up now, young lady, or bear my wrath.” That happened to be the password, so I opened the door.

GEMrub

At the 2014 Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Summer Conference in Los Angeles, Kahodata shared that her Kira-Kira inspiration came from the life and death of her beloved dog. That must have been one delightful pet.

Please share your KIRA-KIRA comments, too!