In spare, moving words and evocative illustrations, Newbery medalist Katherine Applegate and artist G. Brian Karas present the extraordinary real account of a special gorilla. 

Captured as a baby, Ivan was brought to America and used to entice shoppers to a mall. Over many years, customers' curiosity about the gorilla turned to pity and to outrage about his treatment, and pressure built until a better way of life for this gentle creature was found.

From the Congo to America, and from a local business attraction to a national symbol of animal welfare, Ivan the Shopping Mall Gorilla traveled an astonishing distance in miles and in impact.

This is his true story.

From the dust jacket