The One and Only Bob by Katherine Applegate

My 12-year old son Daniel and I read The One and Only Ivan together years ago and enjoyed it.  It is the story of a lowland gorilla that lives in a cage in a shopping mall.  It is a lonely existence until he befriends a dog named Bob and a baby elephant named Stella.  At the end of the book, Ivan and Stella are happily moved to a zoo and Bob has a new home and family.  Daniel and I were overjoyed to see there was a sequel to this book called The One and Only Bob.

This book picks up right after the action of The One and Only Ivan. Bob is the first-person narrator of this novel and tells his story in short easy to read chapters.  He is turning from a stray dog into a loved dog but has an adventure when a tornado hits the zoo where Ivan and Stella live.  He also explores his tragic past as an abandoned puppy.  The story was engrossing and full of adventure.  We read through this book quickly.

Favorite Quote:

“Still and all, when I smell love, I almost always smell worry.  Seems like they’re tangled together so tightly they’ll never unravel.”

Overall, The One and Only Bob was a great follow up novel to The One and Only Ivan that was full of adventure and explored what it means to love and be a family.

Book Source:  Purchased from Amazon.com