K. A. ApplegateBesprekingen

Quotes

It's interesting.
The older I get, the more miracles I seem to notice. (12)

We all learn from example. But what if there is no example to follow? (16)

First sentence: I am Ivan. I'm about to become a dad. I'm hoping it's as easy as it looks.

Premise/plot: The One and Only Ivan is the fourth book in Katherine Applegate's series. Previous titles--as I'm sure many know--include The One and Only Ivan, The One and Only Bob, and The One and Only Ruby. Ivan and his gorilla partner, Kinyani, are going to be parents. This book--written in verse--chronicles Ivan's adventures/misadventures as a dad as "Big Daddy."

My thoughts: I LOVED this one. Is it for kids? Maybe. Maybe not. Is it for adults who read children's books? Almost definitely. Perhaps not exclusively. But The One and Only Ivan has been published for over ten years. He is such a memorable character that readers of all ages may want to read this one. The Ivan books (and sequels) have a timeless feel to them. This one gets VERY reflective and philosophical. I think adults will almost definitely connect with the narration. The writing just resonates at times. So many places I ended up highlighting. I am so glad I read this one.

Quotes:

Look at a gorilla infant's hand. Or a human baby's hand, if you don't happen to have access to a newborn gorilla. Which I suppose is quite likely. How could anything possibly be so small and so perfect? Now extend a finger, the way I am doing, the way every father since the beginning of time has done, and watch the way that tiny hand grabs hold as if it means the difference between life and death. Because perhaps it does. My son is holding on to me. Maybe it is not because of love, or need, or purpose. Maybe the movement is ingrained in a way we can't begin to understand. Perhaps babies hold on to fingers because they must. And perhaps that's all we need to know.

I have my story. The twins will have theirs. Stories, it seems to me, are living things. Once you set them free, they're like offspring. They have destinies of their own. They're no longer your responsibility. They belong to the world.

"The One and Only Ivan" is a touching and thought-provoking tale that will inspire readers to think about the treatment of animals and the importance of empathy and compassion.

Going back and reading the first book in the series after you have read the second and third was great. Everything that happens in this book just hits differently after you have read Bob and Ruby's perspectives and it makes it even better than the first time.
Looking forward to reading The One and Only Family when it is released May 7, 2024.

There's some recycling of other Applegate books in this sequel to The One and Only Ivan. The novel is told in an almost verse-like structure, sometimes with just a few short sentences on a titled page, as with Applegate's Home of the Brave. Bob, the narrator and central character, is very reminiscent of Endling in her Endling trilogy. As with Endling's bare repetition of common fantasy quest tropes, I found Bob's faux bravado and cynicism, and his frequent acts of altruism covered with "what kind of idiot am I for doing this", annoyingly cliched. But the story is saved at the halfway point when a hurricane literally tears everything apart. Though the events are seteups for a potential movie, this is when Applegate's skill at mixing action with emotions and deeper themes -- in this case human-animal relationships -- comes to the fore. Sharp edges to characters appear that were missing in the first half, both with someone very important to Bob, and Kimu, a captive wolf. Kimu appears briefly in only a few scenes but very effectively so.

This book is told in the perspective of the wishing tree as he is being threatened to get cut down. The last thing he chooses to do is try his best to grant the girls wish, that she would make a friend. This book touches on discrimination and friendship. This book would be great for fourth grade to either have in the classroom library or for a daily read-out-loud and discussion time about hard topics.

An Animal Tale that makes Kids think

Should animals be kept in cages? Should they be kept in zoos? This book is based on a real "Ivan". It will provide interesting, thoughtful discussion topics for students.

1.I recommend this book to early elementary school students.
2.This book goes through the story of how a cat got a new bed and complained about how it wasn't the same as it's old bed. Then pupper and doggo see that the cat is uncomfortable the dog and the puppy go and try to find the old bed in the trash. They end up getting the old bed out of the trash and the cat ended up liking the new bed more because the old one smelled like dinner.
3.I definitely will have some books in this series in my classroom as well as in my house when I am a teacher.

This book is sort of a graphic novel, there are only panels in some parts of it. The book is about Doggo and Pupper trying to find a comfortable place for Cat to sleep. Cat got a new bed from her owners but she expressed that she liked the old bed so much. So Doggo and Pupper retrieve the old bed from the trash only to find out that Cat likes the new bed now. I would use this book in a 1st grade classroom since it is a mix of picture book and graphic novel. It can be used to get students used to the idea of having panels in a book and how to follow along with those panels.

Animorphs: The Graphic Novel – The Message continues Michael Grant and Chris Gine’s adaptation of K.A. Applegate’s phenomenal YA series that took the late ’90s by storm. Like the books themselves, the fourth book primarily follows the perspective of Cassie. Having established the Andalite/Yeerk war in the first book, this one features the humans – Rachel, Jakes, Tobias, Cassie, and Marco – learning more about the Andalites and their perspective on the war. Cassie and Tobias begin having dreams featuring a call for help coming from the ocean. The discovery of a piece of Andalite ship wreckage on a beach leads the Animorphs to the realization that there might be an Andalite ship crashed under the waves. The team copies the DNA of some dolphins to begin their exploration, leading Cassie to think about the ethics of copying animals without their consent. This ethical quandary reflects Cassie’s connection to nature while also leading to a consideration of how the Animorphs use alien technology. Their experience as dolphins also leads the team to understand more about how animals interact on our planet. The story also introduces Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill, or “Ax,” the brother of Prince Elfangor, the Andalite who gave the Animorphs their powers. Through him, they learn more about the Andalites and the war itself. Like the preceding volumes, Gine does a phenomenal job portraying the body horror elements of the Animorphs’ abilities while using colors to differentiate between characters’ thought-speak and perspectives such as the whale’s mental images. As with its predecessors, this graphic novel is a great way for long-time fans of the series to revisit it or introduce it to their own children.

Animorphs: The Graphic Novel – The Encounter continues Michael Grant and Chris Gine’s adaptation of K.A. Applegate’s phenomenal YA series that took the late ’90s by storm. Like the books themselves, the third book primarily follows the perspective of Tobias. Having established the Andalite/Yeerk war in the first book, this one continues to feature the humans – Rachel, Jakes, Tobias, Cassie, and Marco – learning more about the Yeerks, their Controller, the Hork-Bajir, and how the Yeerk infiltration of Earth works. The group discovers a cloaked ship the Yeerks use to collect air and water for their tanks, planning to sabotage and expose it in order to bring the public’s attention to the Yeerk invasion. Meanwhile, Tobias continues to adapt to being trapped in the form of a red-tailed hawk after staying morphed for longer than two hours. Grant and Gine do a phenomenal job portraying some of the body horror elements of the Animorphs’ abilities while they include a nice shattered-glass effect for the scenes when Tobias’s human side wars with the hawk’s instincts. Like its predecessors, this graphic novel is a great way for long-time fans of the series to revisit it or introduce it to their own children.

"A Perro le gusta su rutina: dormir, comer, supervisar la casa Pero todo cambia cuando llega Cachorro. A Cachorro le gusta el desorden, salpicar agua por todos lados y que respondan sus preguntas. ¡No sabe quedarse quieto! Así que los humanos lo envían a la escuela. Cuando Cachorro regresa ya no es un torbellino. Sabe sentarse, comer en silencio y seguir indicaciones. Pero ahora ya no es feliz, así que tendrá que aprender una lección más: ¡cómo volver a divertirse!". (Descripción editorial).

This was a sad story because this story is true for so many families and those numbers increase every year. i love that Crenshaw helps Jackson deal with all the things his family is going through. I loved the ending; it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows but it was realistic.

I somehow missed the Animorphs trend when I was a kid, so I decided to finally check it out. The writing style is definitely intended for a "middle grade" or young teen audience, but the story itself is still pretty interesting. And there's an obvious in-universe reason why a bunch of kids need to be in charge of saving the world, which is nice. The themes and ending are darker than I would have expected for a kids' book. The characters are a little under-defined, but it's a quick read -- I finished it in an evening -- and I'll probably read a few more of them (but not all 54!)

Loved this book!

Loved this book! Any animal lover will enjoy it!

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate and illustrated by Patricia Castelao is a Newberry Medal children’s book that will appeal to all ages. We meet a silverback gorilla named Ivan who has lived in a cage in a shopping mall for most of his life. Ivan considers himself and artist and indeed, his crayon pictures are sold for $25.00. He lives with his friends, Stella the Elephant and Bob the dog. While Ivan and Stella are part of the show that the mall puts on three times a day, Bob is a homeless dog who has taken up residency with them.

Ivan is an easygoing gorilla, mostly content with his life but when a young elephant called Ruby is brought into their midst and Stella becomes her protector, Ivan makes a promise to help Ruby get away from the mall and find a better home where she won’t be chained up and has other elephants for company. Ivan eventually comes up with a plan that sees huge changes come about for all the animals.

I absolutely loved this story and Ivan is such a memorable character. The One and Only Ivan is a wonderful book for elementary children and animal lovers of all ages. The story is narrated by Ivan and is in turns funny, sad, loving and uplifting. An absolute children’s classic!

They don't go to the north pole, as the description says. No landmass on the north pole.

S: July 15th, 2021 | C: July 22nd, 2021 | 5 ⭐

⚠️ WARNING! This review may contain spoilers, read at your own risk. I also cuss a lot.

I found this book at Costco and I was intrigued by the cover (funny story, I didn't realize the book I was buying was book 2 of the series because it said The Last so we had to go back to find book 1 and it took a minute for my dumbass to locate it.)

The first thing I will say about this book is that it was hard to put down. I really enjoyed reading it and I found myself in the endless loop of "one more chapter" for a while. I usually read before bed and I was soooo tired, but I didn't want to stop reading. I needed to know what happened next. The characters are also loveable and I had no problem with any of the troupe (except one and for good damn reason!)

《You saved my life. You can't eat me.》

This is the single BEST line in the entire book. I laughed so hard when I read it lmao At this point in the story, Tobble was my ultimate character. He's so brave and loyal despite being small and limited in what he can do. He can really teach people how to be brave despite your limitations. You don't have to be the strongest to be a hero! He's also adorable as fuck, okay. He is precious and I would die for him.

《What purpose does that serve?》 《None whatsoever.》

You cannot tell me that Tobble is not a gem, a comedian, a precious being that we must protect at all costs. I just wanna hug him, he's so precious 💙

《Well, they can only execute me once.》

I enjoyed this line because I am well versed in sarcasm, but I can't stand the person who said it. Which is a good segway to talk about this fuck. I never trusted him from the moment he appeared. It was so obvious that he had ulterior motives. The worst part? I started to slowly trust him and then the fucker dipped and betrayed them! 🤬 Oh, I was so damn mad, bro. I can't wait to see him get what is coming to him!

{Suddenly, in a puff of pink smoke, the old man's worn boot was replaced. Unfortunately, I was replaced with a delicate pink lady's shoe. Tobble rolled his eyes. 《Told you magic is ridiculous.》}

The best scene in the whole book. If I hadn't been at the doctor and nervous as fuck, I would have snorted with laughter 😂

When Gambler appeared, he (sadly) bumped Tobble down to second place. He instantly became my favorite but that may be partially because I was thinking of Khajiit from Skyrim, which I adore. Either way, I love him 💙 And I decided then and there that if he dies in this book, I will fucking RIOT.

There was one place in this book (when they were running from the Knight of Fire for the first time) where I had to really struggle to hold back my tears, but they soon turned to tears of joy! That scene could have gone soooo bad but I'm glad it didn't. And can we talk about the Knight of Fire for a hot minute? I know he's the bad guy and he's trying to kill our troupe, but... he's so cool. As someone that has always envisioned her OC with fire that she has full control over and that seems as if it has a mind of its own, I was so happy to see someone that also followed that path.

Finally, I want to talk about one of the main tropes of this book: humans = greedy, power hungry assholes. The humans are the main villains of this story and they crave power so much that they try to destroy all of the governing species so that they are number one. They are portrayed as liars and that's why the Dairnes are so important, because they can detect lies. Every single time this book insulted humans in this way, I could only find myself nodding along to the words because it's so fucking true, even in our own world.

I was so tempted to include these comments but if I did that, this review would be a book on its own! The best lesson to take from this book? Never trust another human being 🙄 We suck! But this book certainly doesn't! It was a great read 📚

Fantasy

Fantasy

Recommended Ages: Gr. 4-6

Plot Summary: When Odder was a baby sea otter, her mother took good care of her. Her mother always warned her to stay away from humans and sharks. During a storm though, when her mom went to deeper water to get more food, Odder was released from the kelp she was supposed to be stuck in and ended up on the rocks. Odder remembers crying for her mother. Thankfully, she was rescued by humans and brought to Monterey Bay Aquarium, where Odder lived in a pup tank by herself. The humans tried to teach her how to be an otter and eventually, Odder realized what was happening and let it all happen. Finally, Odder got to experience diving in the wild, but returned to the aquarium at night. Until one day, she just left the humans and didn't return. Turns out that Odder loved going up to humans who were kayaking in the bay and she had to be moved to a different area a few times. But Odder loved playing and exploring, especially with her new best friend Kairi. Odder pushes Kairi to be more adventurous, but when they encounter a shark, disaster strikes. Will Kairi and Odder be ok?

Setting: Monterey Bay, CA

Characters:
Odder - adventurous, loves to play
Kairi - Odder's friend in the wild, much more reserved and cautious
Gracie and Holly - older otters who stay at the aquarium, no plans for them to return to the wild, have names not numbers

Recurring Themes: animal rescue, animal conservation, sea otters, endangered animals, friendship, raised by humans, aquarium, adventurous personality, consequences, reintroduce to wild, sharks, danger, names vs numbers

Controversial Issues: none

Personal Thoughts: For a short book in verse, I thought the vocabulary was pretty high. It's easy to get wrapped up in the emotions of the animals because for the most part, the story is told from their perspective. It was a quick read that can easily teach kids about animal rescue and rehabilitation.

Genre: fantasy because parts were told from the perspective of the otter

Pacing: fast, written in verse
Characters:
Frame:
Storyline:

Activity:

I love Katherine Applegate! I was hooked but I thought the ending was a little abrupt. Her language can be terse. Great author's note. Hope kids read this and think less about "cute" and more about the harsh reality for these animals.

Lovely story (I am a huge Katherine Applegate fan) and a great message for young readers -- they can make a difference and be stewards of nature. (Wish I had a hummingbear!)