Childrens Book Review of Ivan the Shopping Mall Gorilla by Katherine Applegate, G Brian Karas

Hunters caught two six-month-old baby gorillas in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They did not indicate the fates of the rest of the tropical forest-dwelling troop. The babies ended up being shipped to Tacoma, Washington. The female expired shortly after being dressed and fed human-style and getting called “Burma” in the B&I Circus Store’s “Name the Babies” contest. Winners got $500 for each owner-determined winning name. The male baby had the name Ivan (1962 – 2012). Ivan lived with B&I’s owners. He loved to:

• Eat fried chicken;
• Swing from drapes and lamps.

By age 5, he moved into B&I Circus Store’s 14-foot (4.27-meter) by 14-foot (4.27meter) cement and glass display room previously occupied by:

• Chimpanzees;
• Elephants;
• Seals.

At age 13, Ivan’s back became silver-white. The color, his fascination with television, and his finger-painted artwork called more and more attention to Ivan. National Geographic generated even more interest by covering the twenty-eight-year-old’s life in the 1990-produced documentary The Urban Gorilla. Seattle, Washington’s Woodland Park Zoo consequently moved the thirty-two-year-old to Georgia’s Zoo Atlanta in 1994. Ivan needed to transition indoors with mammalogists before sharing 1.5 acres (0.61 hectares) outdoors with western lowlanders.  He never relished:

• Damp grass, from which he protected his extremities with burlap coffee bags;
• Wet weather.

He nevertheless remained:

• Devoted to painting, especially in red and always signed with a thumbprint;
• Friendly with gorillas and visitors;
• Loyal to keepers, especially Jodi Carrigan.

Author Katherine Applegate fictionalizes Ivan’s life in the 2012-released novel The One and Only Ivan by HarperCollins Children’s Books, with:

• Patricia Castelao’s illustrations and jacket art;
• Sarah Hoy’s jacket design and typography.

She gives factual updates in biographic format with the children’s book Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla, manufactured in China and released in 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s Clarion Books. The story’s artistry results from:

• Diane Allen’s, Alan Berner’s, and Jodi Carrigan’s photography;
• G. Brian Karas’s jacket and page illustrations;
• Christine Kettner’s jacket design.

Images and information serve as sources of:

• Animal welfare;
• Cultural enrichment;
• Educational entertainment.

Librarians and teachers thereby target:

• Ages 4 - 8;
• Grades preschool - third grade.

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

In 1994, at the age of 32, Ivan was relocated cross-country, on permanent loan, to Zoo Atlanta, where he transitioned to outdoor life: Always sensitive to damp grass, Ivan preferred to protect his extremities with burlap coffee bags.
Ivan at Zoo Atlanta, December 20, 2009; Boulevard Heights, southeast Atlanta, northern Georgia: james (Jeherv), CC BY 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/jehervey/4231541088/

"Ivan the gorilla" (2:06) ~ memorial tribute to Ivan: "The Zoo Atlanta family is saddened by the passing of Ivan the western lowland gorilla, 50 years old and a cherished member of our collection since 1994."
Uploaded August 20, 2012, by Zoo Atlanta to YouTube ~ URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FF1oWHL-lSs

"Katherine Applegate tells the true story of Ivan in her new picture book" (2:55)
Uploaded February 6, 2014, by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt to YouTube ~ URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ez6t1G_1eLE

"Ivan the gorilla lived alone in a shopping mall for over 20 years (The Urban Gorilla)" (3:33)
Uploaded March 28, 2014, by argofilms to YouTube ~ URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYYL2LxotA8

Applegate, Katherine. 2014. Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Clarion Books.

Applegate, Katherine. 2012. The One and Only Ivan. New York, NY: HarperCollins Children's Books.

The Urban Gorilla. 1992. DVD. Directed by Allison Argo. Los Angeles CA: Baseline, 2010.