*Review* The One and Only Ruby by Katherine Applegate

 

Genre: Children's 8-10

Published: May 2, 2023

Pages: 241

From beloved powerhouse author Katherine Applegate comes The One and Only Ruby, starring the adorable baby elephant from the Newbery Medal-winning modern classic The One and Only Ivan and its bestselling sequel, The One and Only Bob.

Ruby’s story picks up a few months after the events of The One and Only Bob. Now living in a wildlife sanctuary, Ruby’s caretaker from the elephant orphanage in Africa where she grew up is visiting. Seeing him again brings back a flood of memories both happy and sad of her life before the circus, and she recounts the time she spent in the African savannah to Ivan and Bob.

In the timeless way that only Katherine Applegate could craft, this highly anticipated novel in verse is the perfect mix of heartfelt and humorous, poignant and sweet. Artist Patricia Castelao returns to the world of Ivan and his friends with gorgeous black-and-white interior illustrations to complete the story.

The One and Only Ruby features first-person narrative; author's use of literary devices (personification, imagery); and story elements (plot, character development, perspective).

This middle grade novel is an excellent choice for tween readers in grades 5 to 8, for independent reading, homeschooling, and sharing in the classroom.

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review. 

This book was selected for me to read by my 12 year old daughter, who loved the first two books in the series. I was really hoping that would mean that she would read it too, but weirdly no such luck on that score. Once I started reading, I realized why she likely enjoys these books. I think it's because the chapters are short and the language is fairly simple. Words that may be outside of the standard vocabulary of the target audience are defined by a character very shortly after their use, which is definitely a bonus for building vocabulary. 

Even though I've never read the first two books in the series, I didn't feel like that was necessary for this story. It is all about Ruby, and any mention of Ivan and Bob really comes down to how they are connected to Ruby. I also got some background on how Ivan, Bob and Ruby all came to know each other. 

If you have a hesitant reader on your hands, this book would definitely be great for them because the chapters are so short. Encouraging them to just read a chapter or two a day shouldn't yield too much resistance because of the brevity, and they may just get sucked into the story and keep reading on their own. 

Overall I give The One and Only Ruby 4.174 out of 5 stars. - Katie 

Amazon

#1 New York Times bestselling author Katherine Applegate has written many books for young readers, including THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN, winner of the 2013 Newbery Medal.

Katherine’s picture books include THE BUFFALO STORM, illustrated by Jan Ormerod (Clarion Books); THE REMARKABLE TRUE STORY OF IVAN, THE SHOPPING MALL GORILLA, illustrated by G. Brian Karas (Clarion Books); and SOMETIMES YOU FLY, illustrated by Jennifer Black Reinhardt (Clarion Books).

She’s written two early chapter series for young readers: ROSCOE RILEY RULES, a seven-book series illustrated by Brian Biggs (HarperCollins); and DOGGO AND PUPPER, a three-book series illustrated by Charlie Alder (Feiwel & Friends).

Books for middle-grade readers include HOME OF THE BRAVE (Feiwel & Friends); THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN, illustrated by Patricia Castelao (HarperCollins); THE ONE AND ONLY BOB, illustrated by Patricia Castelao (HarperCollins); the ENDLING trilogy (HarperCollins); CRENSHAW (Feiwel & Friends); WISHTREE (Feiwel & Friends); and WILLODEEN (Feiwel & Friends).

With her husband, Michael Grant, Katherine co-wrote ANIMORPHS, a long-running series that has sold over 35 million books worldwide. They also wrote two other series, REMNANTS and EVERWORLD, and a young adult novel, EVE AND ADAM (Feiwel & Friends.)

Katherine’s work has been translated into dozens of languages, and her books have won accolades including the Christopher Medal, the Golden Kite Award, the Bank Street Josette Frank Award, the California Book Award Gold Medal, the Crystal Kite Award, the Green Earth Book Honor Award, the Charlotte Zolotow Honor Award, and the E.B. White Read Aloud Award. Many of her works have appeared on state master lists, Best of the Year lists, and Publishers Weekly, USA Today, and New York Times bestseller lists.

THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN was made into a Disney movie starring Brian Cranston, Sam Rockwell, and Angelina Jolie.

Katherine lives in California, with her family and assorted pets. She is represented by Elena Giovinazzo at Pippin Properties, Inc.