This is a picture book about Ivan, a gorilla poached as a baby and brought to the U.S. to live, first with a family until he was too big, then he lived for almost three decades in a mall by himself. From there, he was taken to a zoo to live the rest of his life with other gorillas in a more natural habitat.

I loved the YA book “The One and Only Ivan”. This is a really nice children’s story about the same gorilla with such a sad life. There are some really great illustrations. Despite it being so short and succinct (it’s a kid’s book, and no surprise, really), this one still had me crying a couple of times. There are a few pages at the end with a longer textual summary of Ivan’s life and a note from one of the zookeeper’s who took care of him in his last decade of life. ( )

The story about Ivan, a gorilla that was taken from its natural habitat in Africa to live captive in a US shopping mall until finally petitioners secured his release to Zoo Atlanta, a premier facility that houses gorillas in natural habitat.

Shopping mall gorilla. True story it took place in Tacoma.

Ivan, the shopping mall gorilla, lived many years in a small cage in a mall. This simple story shows how people advocated for him and eventually relocated him to a zoo to live with other gorillas, teaching children to empathize with animals. ( )

Katherine Applegate's picture book version of the truly amazing story about a gorilla who lived in a concrete cell in Tacoma, Washington. Ivan was taken from the jungles of Africa and brought to a circus themed mall where he spent decades of his life without much stimulation or space. Before the public knew much about how to correctly care for animals in captivity Ivan was used as an entertaining sideshow. This story tells of the heartbreakingly true story of how Ivan lived and grew in captivity and his eventual rescue.
Katherine Applegate also wrote a novel from Ivan's point of view that is best suited for mid-level readers. ( )