Title: Ivan the Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla

Author: Katherine Applegate

Genre: Literary non-fiction

Summary:  There was a gorilla born in a tropical forest in central Africa. He was apart of a large family of gorillas. He didn’t learn about humans until it was too late because he was captured as a baby, and brought to a Tacoma, Washington. He was placed in a mall to attract shoppers. The man who owned the mall ordered the gorillas. People dressed him in human clothes, held him and fed him human food. He lived in a home for three years like a human. He slept in a bed, went to baseball games, held babies, and rode a motorcycle. He had to learn many things that other gorillas didn’t have to. Eventually he was too big to be in a house. Ivan was put inside a cage in the mall. He was very lonely and this made people very mad! After people wrote petitions Ivan was placed in a Zoo with other gorillas.

Review: I enjoyed this book even though it made me upset to think that this was a true story! When the author says how the man ordered the gorillas how you order a pizza, or a pair of shoes made me frustrated. I think that it is animal abuse to keep the gorillas behind bars in such a small living area. I think that the gorillas should be left in their natural habitat.

Content Area Connection:

Social Studies:  The author describes a gorillas habitat and their societal structure. The author uses family to build empathy for living creatures. Young learners typically learn about families in social studies.

English Language Arts: Students are introduced to new vocabulary and terms about gorillas.  The new words are in sentences where the students can figure out what they mean by the content already given. This is also a way to teach that non-fiction means that the book is true.