The Complete One and Only Collection

Find the Newbery Medal–winning modern classic, The One and Only Ivan, and its bestselling sequels, The One and Only Bob, The One and Only Ruby, and The One and Only Family in this paperback box set!

Ivan is an easygoing gorilla. Living at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, he has grown accustomed to humans watching him through the glass walls of his domain. He rarely misses his life in the jungle. Mostly, he thinks about art. Then he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from her family, and she makes Ivan see their home—and his own art—through new eyes. When Ruby arrives, change comes with her, and it’s up to Ivan to make it a change for the better.

Continuing the story of these friends in The One and Only Bob, Bob sets out on a dangerous journey in search of his long-lost sister with the help of Ivan and Ruby. As a hurricane approaches and time is running out, Bob finds courage he never knew he had and learns the true meaning of friendship and family.

The littlest elephant shares her own story in The One and Only Ruby, picking up a few months after the events of The One and Only Bob as Ruby's caretaker from the elephant orphanage in Africa where she grew up is visiting her at the sanctuary. Seeing him again brings back a flood of memories of her life before the circus, and she recounts the time she spent in the African savanna to Ivan and Bob.

The series closes with The One and Only Family, in which Ivan becomes a papa--to twins! As he navigates the joys and challenges of parenthood, he can’t help but recall his life before the glass walls of the mall circus, his own childhood in the jungle—and his own twin.

In the tradition of timeless stories like Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little, Katherine Applegate blends humor and poignancy to create an unforgettable story of friendship, art, family, and hope.

All books in the series feature first-person narrative; author's use of literary devices (personification, imagery); and story elements (plot, character development, perspective). These acclaimed middle grade novels are an excellent choice for tween readers in grades 5 to 8, for independent reading, homeschooling, and sharing in the classroom.