Fans of The One and Only Ivan are going to be thrilled with its sequel. Ivan’s lovable friend narrates the story in The One and Only Bob.
Novel Summary
At the zoo, Bob visits with Ivan and Ruby when a terrible storm quickly blows in. Bob ends up inside a tornado. He flies across the zoo and lands in the giraffe cage. As he makes his way back to Ivan and Ruby, he comes across several zoo animals that need help. At one point, he helps a baby sloth get back to her family. He also passes the wolf den and sees Kimu in a dazed state.
Finally, Bob reaches Gorilla World and Elephant Odyssey. There he discovers the wall separating the two spaces has crumbled to the ground. A baby gorilla named Kudzoo becomes stuck in the elephant’s mud pond. Ruby comes up with a plan to rescue Kudzoo by having several elephants weave their trunks together to form a net to scoop him out.
Next, Bob goes to check on Ivan. Inside the gorilla cave, he finds Ivan trapped under crumbled concrete and a heavy beam. After a frightening ordeal, firefighters free Ivan. Luckily, he is not hurt.
Through the crackling static, Bob thinks he hears his long-lost sister bark over the police radio. He decides he must leave the zoo and check on the animals at the animal shelter and hopefully find his sister.
Flashback — After being tossed out of the moving truck, Bob hears Boss and knows she survived being thrown. When her crying stops, he is too afraid to go check on her, so he leaves. He feels guilty over abandoning his sister even though he is only a few months old.
As Bob leaves the zoo, the wolf Kimu walks past the police cars. Police fire shots at him and miss. Kimu runs away……
Activities for The One and Only Bob
Videos
Video #1 – Book Trailer
Video #2 – Author Katherine Applegate reads the first 5 chapters of her book.
Context Clues Game
Get the printable and digital games here.
Educator Resources
Katherine Applegate has an Educator Resources section on her website. There you will find 12 discussion questions and 5 extension activities to add to your novel study. Activities include research questions and links to learn more on various topics related to the novel.
