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

Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate

Crenshaw is the tale of a boy and his very large imaginary cat.  Jackson and his family live in difficult circumstances.  Crenshaw first appeared to Jackson when he was in 1^st grade and his family became homeless after his dad was diagnosed with MS and lost his construction job and his Mom also lost her job as a music teacher.  Life got back on track and they have an apartment with Jackson now in the 4^th grade, but Crenshaw has started to appear again.  Jackson also starts to notice that things are disappearing around the house.  Jackson worries about the future of his family as well as ponders why Crenshaw appears.

I read this back and forth out loud with my 9-year old son Kile, with his 7-year old brother Daniel listening.  Daniel got frustrated with Kile’s reading at one point and took the book himself and read it.  Both boys are in the Kewaunee Public Library Youth Book club and will be discussing this book in a week and a half.

The boys thought the book was interesting, especially whenever Crenshaw was in the room.  It was also eye opening for them as they’ve never thought about a kid like themselves as being homeless.  This book also prompted discussion about medical care costs (the Dad with MS)

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The kids loved a book they read for Youth book club last year by the same author, The One and Only Ivan.  They didn’t experience that type of love for Crenshaw.  It brought about good discussion points with the kids, but having never had an imaginary friend, they found that part confusing.  They also found the flash backs to first grade confusing as well to try to keep straight if the timeline was current or a flashback.

Overall, the book was one that the kids thought was “good” but not nearly as enjoyable as The One and Only Ivan.

Book Source: The Kewaunee Public Library – Thanks!