The One and Only Ivan Summary

Ivan the gorilla has lived in the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade in Tacoma, Washington for most of his life — twenty-seven years. He was taken from the wild as an infant and raised briefly in a human home before being brought to the mall when he grew too large. He lives in a glass-and-concrete domain with a tire swing, crayons, and a television, and has largely made his peace with this existence. He tells himself he is not the sort of animal who dwells on the past. He paints pictures, which Mack sells in the gift shop, and he watches the humans who watch him.

Stella is an elephant who has been with the mall for years. She was also born in the wild and has vague memories of a better life. Her foot has been bothering her — an injury that is slowly becoming infected — but Mack does not call a veterinarian. She is wise and calm and deeply attached to Ruby, the baby elephant who arrives to boost the mall's declining attendance.

Bob is a stray dog who lives with Ivan, sleeping on his belly and sharing his food. He is small and self-sufficient and believes deeply in not belonging to anyone or anything.

Julia is the daughter of George, the mall's night janitor. She brings her art supplies to the mall and draws and paints while her father works. She and Ivan recognize something in each other — both are artists, both observe the world carefully — and their friendship develops silently across the glass of his domain.

Ruby's arrival changes everything. She is young and playful and immediately attaches herself to Stella, who becomes her surrogate mother. Ruby doesn't know how to be an elephant; she was born in captivity and has never been in a herd. Stella teaches her what she can. But Stella's foot grows worse. A trainer named Maya, who has been hired to work with Ruby, can see that Stella needs a vet, but Mack delays. When Stella finally collapses, it is too late. Before she dies, she makes Ivan promise to get Ruby out — to get her to a "better place," a zoo where she can be with other elephants.

Ivan doesn't know how to keep this promise. He cannot call anyone. He cannot write a note. He has only his paintings. He begins working on something different from his usual abstract circles — he begins painting what he remembers: trees, sky, a field. He paints Ruby. He paints the word HOME in large letters. He pushes the paintings out to where Julia can see them.

Julia understands. She photographs Ivan's paintings and posts them online, and they attract enough attention to bring local news cameras to the mall. The subsequent coverage creates public pressure on Mack. Animal rights groups become involved. Ivan and Ruby are relocated — Ruby to Zoo Atlanta, where she will be with other elephants, and Ivan eventually to Zoo Atlanta as well, where he joins a troop of gorillas for the first time in decades.

The book's final sections are quiet. Ivan describes Zoo Atlanta: the grass, the other gorillas, the sky. He describes learning to be a gorilla again — slowly, awkwardly, watching how the others move. He makes a friend. He thinks about Stella and his promise.

Katherine Applegate's prose in The One and Only Ivan is brief and precise, with the weight of much more underneath.

"Memories are precious... they help tell us who we are."

"Humans waste words. They toss them like banana peels and leave them to rot. Everyone knows the peels are the best part."

"A good zoo is a large domain. A wild cage. A safe place to be. It has room to roam and humans who don't hurt. A good zoo is how humans make amends."