The One and Only Ivan

What is it about children's books and animal cruelty? Have you ever noticed how many children's books have been written about dying animals? When I was in grade school, I hated books about animals. WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS, CHARLOTTE'S WEB . . . I never understood why kids would want to read sad books about animals. Maybe it was because we were never animal people in my family. Pets were messy, a lot of work, and we were a sensitive bunch and I think deep down, just never wanted to get to know something so cute and cuddly that was going to die long before us.

I bring this up because I should have known what was coming in THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN. I should have seen the sad looking animals on the front cover and stayed far away. I should have read the blurb on the jacket by none other than Kathi Appelt, author of THE UNDERNEATH for crying out loud, and put this book back on the shelf. But I had to give it a try . . . there's just something about distinguished literature for children and sad animals . . .

Ivan is a mighty gorilla, trapped in a small circus (that doubles as a shopping mall) with an aging elephant, a stray dog, and a new baby elephant. Ivan is quite the artist and people pay $25 for his artwork (which is usually just of a banana). When Ruby, a baby elephant joins the troupe and begins asking questions about their existence, Ivan finds himself promising her a better life, unaware of how he can provide one for her. Sad, sad animals ensue . . .

As I mentioned earlier, the back of this novel boasts a quote from Kathi Appelt, author of the brilliant THE UNDERNEATH, and I find it rather fitting because of all the children's novels I've read in recent years, the one that screams comparison the most, is THE UNDERNEATH. Everything in THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN is so darn sad. Depressingly sad. When the details of Ivan's background are brought to light, I found myself needing to put the book down and take a break, just as I did with Appelt's novel at times.

Ivan narrates this book in a sort of verse-prose that is both simple and compelling at the same time. It's quite the feat by author Katherine Applegate. Ivan is an artist at heart and there's only so much art he can make inside the walls of his domain. The fact that he's an artist made it easier to stomach some of the beautiful language coming out of the mouth of this gorilla. But at times, I couldn't suspend my disbelief to the extreme because the figurative language was pretty for the sake of being pretty, and not something a gorilla, even this gorilla, would ever come up with. The wordiness of the verse took away from the poignancy of the story at times for me, oddly enough. Quite often, this style of writing is supposed to bring out the poignancy of stories.

If Applegate's novel were to come away with some Newbery hardware this winter, I can't say that I would be too surprised. However I can't believe that there isn't better written, more distinguished novels, out there for kids this year. THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN is a very good book, don't get me wrong. It's a very meaningful book, but it's a sappy sort of book that oozes Newbery . . . sad animals, dying animals, friendship and art, uplifting message (albeit, with an over the top, happy, somewhat cliched ending) . . . Maybe this is why I found myself not rooting for it in the end. Because it wouldn't surprise me if everyone else is.

Final Grade: B

Inside Out and Back Again v. Hidden: Two Novels in Verse

In any other given year, INSIDE OUT AND BACK AGAIN by Thanhha Lai would be the sort of novel that the Newbery committee would drool over. Written in verse, with beautiful poetic language, it tells the story of 10-year-old Ha and her family as they leave their war-torn home of Vietnam to settle in the United States. Ha's father has been missing in action for 9 years and the transition to American culture is not easy. This kind of character drama is the stuff the Newbery committee loves. But this year, this particular free verse novel, has some pretty stiff competition.

HIDDEN by Helen Frost, is another free verse novel told from the point of view of two different girls, Wren Abbott and Darra Monson. When Wren was eight years old, a man stole her mother's car from a gas station and drove off. Unbeknownst to the man, Wren was in the backseat. Wren's next two days are spent trapped in the man's garage, hiding in his boat, eavesdropping on their family, and finding brief companionship in the family's cat Archie. Darra, the man's daughter, after seeing a news report of the missing girl, guesses that Wren must be hiding in their garage somewhere. Without telling her mother or father, she attempts to help by leaving food out for Wren. She even devises a plan to get her out unseen, but never gets to see it through. Wren is able to escape without the two girls ever actually meeting face to face. Six years later though, the two girls attend the same summer camp and those harrowing days Wren spent trapped in the Monson's garage come haunting back.

It's probably not fair to compare the two novels. They are each their own separate entities. However after reading both, Lai's attempt at free verse in INSIDE OUT AND BACK AGAIN seems rather meager compared to Frost's intricate and brilliantly designed plot. With INSIDE OUT AND BACK AGAIN, I feel that there is no real reason to tell the story in verse. The language is beautiful and poetic, but I feel that if Lai would not have been somewhat confined to the artistic style she chose, there may have actually been more of a story here. What we have are feelings and events pieced together in a rather sparse, and sometimes sporadic manner. I'm sure the intent was to have these small, quiet moments in Ha's narrative stand out loud and clear when they weren't surrounded by much context. But instead, I found it to be quite the opposite. I just didn't think there was much to this piece and I can't find much to say about it. Plus, it's kind of boring.

In HIDDEN however, the free verse serves an important purpose. Both Wren and Darra share the role of narrator and each do it in their own brand of free verse poetry. This gives them two very distinct voices. Wren's narrative is similar to that of Lai's style from INSIDE OUT AND BACK AGAIN, a more traditional form of free verse. It's beautiful on the page and reads effortlessly. At times, Wren's free verse narration is even incredibly suspenseful. Darra's narrative is of Frost's own creation. It's more a heavier style of narrative poetry, detailed and descriptive and even kind of a puzzle. When solved it gives the reader further insight into how Darra experienced the same event six years ago.

There are a few plot particulars of HIDDEN that did hold it back from being perfect though. Eight year old, pink and pigtailed, delicate little Wren behaves with such maturity and resourcefulness when surviving in the Monson garage that some suspension of disbelief is required on the reader's part. Later in the book, when Darra finds out that her father is being released from prison in a few months, Wren coincidentally receives an "urgent" phone call from her parents, interrupting her final few weeks of summer camp, informing her of the very same news. "We thought we should let you know," says her father. Why exactly couldn't it wait a couple of weeks, I ask? Probably, convenience of moving the plot along. But I'm willing to forgive Frost those minor blunders because the end result is so powerful.

I understand that the two books are aimed at two entirely different age sets. INSIDE OUT AND BACK again is geared toward the younger Newbery audience members while HIDDEN is definitely written for the upper end. I appreciate the fact that Lai's novel introduces younger readers to the free verse form, but just can't get over how far superior Frost's book is.

INSIDE OUT AND BACK AGAIN Final Grade: C+

HIDDEN Final Grade: A-