by Katherine Applegate (Goodreads Author), Patricia Castelao (Illustrations)
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Amazing!
This Newbery winner book is based on a true story. It's about Ivan, a gorilla who lives in a cage for many years, since he was still a baby. He know nothing about being a gorilla.
He works for a circus and makes friends with the other animals. His best friends are Bob, a stray dog who always sleeps on his belly, and Stella, an elephant.
When the circus doesn't have many visitors, the owner brings a baby elephant, Ruby. Stella takes care of Ruby, but her condition is getting worse. One night, Stella made Ivan promise to take care of Ruby & put her in a safe place. Then Stella died.
From then on, Ruby must perform in circus to replace Stella. Mack, the owner uses claw stick to make Ruby cooperate with the training. The claw stick made from little blades that hurts animals. Ivan tries to find a way to free Ruby.
You see, Ivan is an artist, he likes to draw. And by drawing, he plans to free Ruby and give her a new home.
Will Ivan succeed? After all, he is only a gorilla.
A really, really good story, told from Ivan's voice makes me wonder whether they could really understand us.
