Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla

Ivan The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla Book Trailer

Do you like to read true stories about animals? If you do then you should check out Ivan:The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla by Katherine Applegate. The story is about a gorilla named Ivan who was captured in the wild and sent to a shopping mall in Washington. He lived there alone for many years. Read to find out what happened in Ivan’s life.

  Ivan's home in the shopping mall.

In our opinion, we think Ivan:The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla is a really good book. To start with, this book had lots of emotion in it. At some points in the book you are sad and at other times happy. Another reason is the book had amazing illustrations. You can tell what is happening by looking at the detailed illustrations. Finally, the author used descriptive language. For example, the author wrote, “In leafy calm and gentle arms a gorilla’s life began.” As you can see, Ivan:The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla, is a great book that we think you should read.

Book Review by Mrs. Hayes' Second Grade Class

Shawn Loves Sharks

Do you love sharks and books with satisfied endings?  Then Shawn Loves Sharks by Curtis Manley is the book for you.  Shawn LOVES everything about sharks… their blank black eyes, their mouths full of sharp teeth, and how they can sneak up on their prey and attack in one huge bite.

  

He even owns 127 books about sharks. Shawn loves pretending he is a shark and chasing Stacy around on the playground.

He loves sharks more than anything else in the world.

But on Predator Day he isn’t assigned the shark… he is assigned the leopard seal.  

Stacy is assigned the shark. How will Shawn handle not having the shark? How will Stacy treat Shawn since she has the shark? Can two enemies become friends?  Read Shawn Loves Sharks to find out.

As a class we really like the illustrations in this book because you can see how Shawn and Stacy are feeling throughout the story.  We think a funny part in the story is when Shawn is chasing Stacy on the playground.  She is screaming and he is chomp, chomp, chomping at her. We think the lesson the author is trying to teach is that you can like more than one thing.

We would recommend this book for kids who are ages 5 and up. We also think this book is for anyone who loves sharks and is willing to learn about new things.  

Book Review by Mrs. Neimeister's Second Grade Class