The One and Only Ivan
by Katherine Applegate
★ Top 25 book of 2011 · #16 on Best Books of 2011
After 27 years in a mall enclosure, Ivan passes his days with television, painting, and his friends Stella and Bob. Meeting Ruby, a baby elephant taken from the wild, makes him see his home and art differently.
Best for: Young readers who enjoy animal narrators and gentle stories about friendship and perspective
The One and Only Ivan is #16 on BookWard's Best Books of 2011, out of 53 2011 books that cleared our data bar.
What The One and Only Ivan is about
Ivan has lived for 27 years behind glass in a shopping mall, and he has long since stopped minding the people who watch him. He fills his days with television, his friends Stella and Bob, and his painting, and he rarely lets his mind drift back to the jungle. Then a baby elephant named Ruby arrives, taken from the wild, and her presence makes Ivan look again at the place he calls home and at his own art. Katherine Applegate's 2011 novel is gentle and moving, a story about captivity, friendship and finding a new way of seeing. It is a kind choice for young readers and for anyone who values compassion in a story.
The One and Only Ivan on the Best Books of 2011
The One and Only Ivan came out in 2011. Of the 53 books first published in 2011 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #16 on our Best Books of 2011 list.
Why it made the list: 658 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.4 out of 5 (46 ratings); 34 are reading it right now. The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.
Nearby on the 2011 list
- Cinder Marissa Meyer, #14
- Gone Girl Gillian Flynn, #15
- The Art of Thinking Clearly Rolf Dobelli, #17
- The Wise Man’s Fear Patrick Rothfuss, #18
See all Best Books of 2011 Best books by year
More years: Best Books of 2010 Best Books of 2012.
The numbers behind it
- Readers: 563 want to read it, 34 are reading it now and 61 have read it, according to Open Library.
- Ratings: 4.4 out of 5 from 46 Open Library ratings.
| Signal | This book (0 to 100) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 60 | 55% |
| Reader love | 83 | 25% |
| Being read right now | 58 | 20% |
Questions about The One and Only Ivan
When was The One and Only Ivan published?
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate was first published in 2011.
Was The One and Only Ivan one of the best books of 2011?
The One and Only Ivan is #16 on BookWard's Best Books of 2011, out of 53 2011 books that cleared our data bar. 658 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.4 out of 5 (46 ratings); 34 are reading it right now.
Why is The One and Only Ivan on the Best Books of 2011 list?
658 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.4 out of 5 (46 ratings); 34 are reading it right now.
More of the best books of 2011
- Sapiens Yuval Noah Harari, #1
- The Song of Achilles Madeline Miller, #2
- Thinking, Fast and Slow Daniel Kahneman, #3
- Steve Jobs Walter Isaacson, #4
- The Son of Neptune Rick Riordan, #5
- The Mark of Athena Rick Riordan, #6
See the full Best Books of 2011, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.
How we know
This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views for recent years. The description is paraphrased from real source text. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Lists update monthly.
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