By Katherine Applegate

Art by Patricia Castelao

Bring Books To Life! When you read books aloud together it’s always a fun idea to do more with the book. It’s natural to talk about the characters and plot of course but do you ever do more? I love to go on a special outing after finishing a book that brings it to life in a new way! The zoo was the perfect place to go after reading The One and Only Ivan by @kaaauthor, which is based on a true story! (Bonus we rented the movie on prime too!)

This is a great book for a reluctant reader. It’s broken up into really short sections and can give a lot of confidence to readers. This book does contain some difficult issues but it was a great opportunity for me to talk with my kiddos about them: mistreatment of animals, violence against animals, death, references to alcohol abuse, and tobacco use. 

We had some tough conversations but I’m glad we did. The book was beautiful with themes of family, friendship, heroism, and empathy.

I’d recommend it for 3rd grade independent reading and younger for read aloud. You know your family and what your kids would be able to handle! 

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate for Harper Books.

Ages: 8-10

Themes: Family, friendship, empathy, heroism

#childrensbooks #bookswithapurpose #chapterbooks #readaloudrevolution #readaloudfamily #theoneandonlyivan #youngreaders #newberyaward #katherineapplegate

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