Katherine Applegate - The One and Only Ivan

KATHERINE APPLEGATE

The

ONE

AND

ONLY

Ivan

illustrations by

Patricia Castelao

Dedication

for Julia

Epigraph

It is never too late to be

what you might have been.

—George Eliot

Glossary

chest beat: repeated slapping of the chest with one or both hands in order to generate a loud sound (sometimes used by gorillas as a threat display to intimidate an opponent)

domain: territory

the Grunt: snorting, piglike noise made by gorilla parents to express annoyance

me-ball: dried excrement thrown at observers

9,855 days(example): While gorillas in the wild typically gauge the passing of time based on seasons or food availability, Ivan has adopted a tally of days. (9,855 days is equal to twenty-seven years.)

Not-Tag: stuffed toy gorilla

silverback(also, less frequently, grayboss): an adult male over twelve years old with an area of silver hair on his back. The silverback is a figure of authority, responsible for protecting his family.

slimy chimp(slang; offensive): a human (refers to sweat on hairless skin)

vining: casual play (a reference to vine swinging)

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Dedication

Epigraph

Glossary

hello

names

patience

how I look

the exit 8 big top mall and video arcade

the littlest big top on earth

gone

artists

shapes in clouds

imagination

the loneliest gorilla in the world

tv

the nature show

stella

stella’s trunk

a plan

bob

wild

picasso

three visitors

my visitors return

sorry

julia

drawing bob

bob and julia

mack

not sleepy

the beetle

change

guessing

jambo

lucky

arrival

stella helps

old news

tricks

introductions

stella and ruby

home of the one and only ivan

art lesson

treat

elephant jokes

children

the parking lot

ruby’s story

a hit

worry

the promise

knowing

five men

comfort

crying

the one and only ivan

once upon a time

the grunt

mud

protector

a perfect life

the end

vine

the temporary human

hunger

still life

punishment

babies

beds

my place

nine thousand eight hundred and seventy-six days

a visit

a new beginning

poor mack

colors

a bad dream

the story

how

remembering

what they did

something else to buy

another ivan

days

nights

project

not right

going nowhere

bad guys

ad

imagining

not-tag

one more thing

the seven-o’clock show

twelve

H

nervous

showing julia

more paintings

chest-beating

angry

puzzle pieces

finally

the next morning

mad human

phone call

a star again

the ape artist

interview

the early news

signs on sticks

protesters

check marks

free ruby

new box

training

poking and prodding

no painting

more boxes

good-bye

click

an idea

respect

photo

leaving

good boy

moving

awakening

missing

food

not famous

something in the air

a new tv

the family

excited

what i see

still there

watching

she

door

wondering

ready

outside at last

oops

what it was like

pretending

nest

more tv

it

romance

more about romance

grooming

talk

the top of the hill

the wall

safe

silverback

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Author's Note

Credits

Copyright

About the Publisher

hello

I am Ivan. I am a gorilla.

It’s not as easy as it looks.

names

People call me the Freeway Gorilla. The Ape at Exit 8. The One and Only Ivan, Mighty Silverback.

The names are mine, but they’re not me. I am Ivan, just Ivan, only Ivan.

Humans waste words. They toss them like banana peels and leave them to rot.

Everyone knows the peels are the best part.

I suppose you think gorillas can’t understand you. Of course, you also probably think we can’t walk upright.

Try knuckle walking for an hour. You tell me: Which way is more fun?

patience

I’ve learned to understand human words over the years, but understanding human speech is not the same as understanding humans.

Humans speak too much. They chatter like chimps, crowding the world with their noise even when they have nothing to say.

It took me some time to recognize all those human sounds, to weave words into things. But I was patient.

Patient is a useful way to be when you’re an ape.

Gorillas are as patient as stones. Humans, not so much.

how I look

I used to be a wild gorilla, and I still look the part.

I have a gorilla’s shy gaze, a gorilla’s sly smile. I wear a snowy saddle of fur, the uniform of a silverback. When the sun warms my back, I cast a gorilla’s majestic shadow.

In my size humans see a test of themselves. They hear fighting words on the wind, when all I’m thinking is how the late-day sun reminds me of a ripe nectarine.

I’m mightier than any human, four hundred pounds of pure power. My body looks made for battle. My arms, outstretched, span taller than the tallest human.

My family tree spreads wide as well. I am a great ape, and you are a great ape, and so are chimpanzees and orangutans and bonobos, all of us distant and distrustful cousins.

I know this is troubling.

I too find it hard to believe there is a connection across time and space, linking me to a race of ill-mannered clowns.

Chimps. There’s no excuse for them.

the exit 8 big top mall and video arcade

I live in a human habitat called the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade. We are conveniently located off I-95, with shows at two, four, and seven, 365 days a year.

Mack says that when he answers the trilling telephone.

Mack works here at the mall. He is the boss.

I work here too. I am the gorilla.

At the Big Top Mall, a creaky-music carousel spins all day, and monkeys and parrots live amid the merchants. In the middle of the mall is a ring with benches where humans can sit on their rumps while they eat soft pretzels. The floor is covered with sawdust made of dead trees.

My domain is at one end of the ring. I live here because I am too much gorilla and not enough human.

Stella’s domain is next to mine. Stella is an elephant. She and Bob, who is a dog, are my dearest friends.

At present, I do not have any gorilla friends.

My domain is made of thick glass and rusty metal and rough cement. Stella’s domain is made of metal bars. The sun bears’ domain is wood; the parrots’ is wire mesh.