Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 06/01/2014 For those who loved the Newbery Award–winning The One and Only Ivan (2012), Applegate has created a picture-book adaptation of the true story. A baby gorilla from central Africa is captured and taken to Tacoma, Washington. At first he lives with a human family, and children will see themselves in the happy gorilla that sleeps in a bed, goes to baseball games, and licks ice-cream cones. But when Ivan grows too big, he is sold, and for 27 years, the adult silverback lives in a cage at a shopping mall. After protesting citizens write petitions, Ivan goes to a better environment at Zoo Atlanta. Back matter has more facts and photos of Ivan and websites for further information, as well as one of Ivan’s finger paintings signed with his thumbprint. Using pencil-line drawing and washes of pastel, Karas feelingly depicts Ivan’s gentle and loving personality conveying how this gentle gorilla won the hearts of thousands of people—and readers. - Copyright 2014 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 07/01/2014 K-Gr 2—In this gorgeous picture book, Applegate details the real-life inspiration for her Newbery Award-winning novel, The One and Only Ivan (HarperCollins, 2012). This title describes the harsh life of Ivan the gorilla, who was captured as a baby by poachers and brought to the B&I Circus Store in Tacoma, a mall that featured other wild animals. Though he initially lived in a house with the store's owner, when he got too big and unwieldy to handle, he was caged and put on display, staying there for more than 27 years. When the public became aware of his plight, Ivan attracted media attention and eventually was brought to a more humane environment at Zoo Atlanta. Though Applegate touches on some dark times in the life of this gorilla—he was captured with a young female gorilla who died shortly after—she does so with sensitivity. "Without her, Ivan was all alone, with too much left to learn." While her more detailed note on Ivan states that he died in 2012, the book ends on a positive moment, with Ivan finding peace in his new home. Karas's darkly hued, smudgy illustrations complement the tone of the narrative and convey the sense of loneliness and isolation that marked the gorilla's existence. A remembrance from Ivan's main zookeeper rounds out this moving work.—Mahnaz Dar, School Library Journal - Copyright 2014 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Bulletin for the Center... - 01/01/2015 With understated drama, Applegate compactly relays the true story of the real Ivan behind The One and Only Ivan (BCCB 2/12), a gorilla poached as a baby in central Africa in 1962 and shipped as a novelty purchase to a store in Washington. the book covers Ivan’s bucolic African beginnings, his capture and arrival in the U.S. (along with a baby female gorilla who died shortly afterwards), his upbringing among humans until age three, his subsequent installation in a cage in a shopping mall, the growing protest against his impoverished existence there, and his eventual release into a more hospitable habitat at Zoo Atlanta. An author’s endnote and a note from one of Ivan’s keepers at Zoo Atlanta offer more detailed information about his story, and three photos of Ivan are included, as is a photo of one of his paintings. While Karas’ subtle palette and gentle, cozily textured illustrations make it easy to understand the impulse to treat the adorable baby Ivan and his age-mate Burma as human-like pets, the scenes of Ivan in the wild and, in contrast, in captivity underscore the questionable ethics of such behavior. Particularly moving are the scenes in which a high-flying airplane, seen from a baby gorilla’s vantage point, heralds Ivan’s first, doomed contact with humans, and the depiction of Ivan huddled in a dark shipping crate. The text is streamlined but powerful, and younger kids who aren’t up for the linguistic and emotional challenges of Applegate’s fictional account of Ivan will find this a thoughtful and intriguing introduction; older readers who have read The One and Only Ivan may enjoy it as well. JH - Copyright 2015 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.