Middle Grade Monday: The One and Only Ivan Full-Color Collector's Edition by Katherine Applegate

Image: HarperCollins Publishers

The One and Only Ivan  Full-Color Collector's Edition by Katherine Applegate. 352 p. HrperCollins Publishers, October, 2015. 9780062425249. (Review of finished purchased copy.)

Middle Grade Monday features The One and Only Ivan  Full-Color Collector's Edition by Katherine Applegate. You may already know or have read this Newbery Medal winner. It is the first-person narration of Ivan, an ape in captivity in a shopping mall who became an artist. I didn't look it up, but I may have featured it in a "Daily Book Talk" on the morning announcements already. Forgive me. Indulge me. When TMS' copy of the book was lost last year, I reordered it. I must not have read the caption carefully, because when I opened the box, I found an over-sized, hefty beauty. If the black and white illustrations of the original were gorgeous, these full-color babies go beyond. If I thought the white space played an important role in the original, the white space here cannot be ignored. The paper is thick and luscious. Hopefully, it will stand up to much reading. 

This collector's edition is one to treasure. I am buying a copy for my home library. I was afraid the size would intimidate readers, but it doesn't. Display the book prominently and it won't sit.