Open the above link and watch the book trailer.
1. Read the Q & A with Katherine Applegate (author). What did she base her story on? What kind of research would she have to do to write this book? (Post your answers.)
2. Use the sites below to research the silverback gorilla. Make a point form list of all the information you think Katherine Applegate would have found useful when writing her book. Import a picture of a silverback gorilla. (Use a word document.)
http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/animals/gorilla.html
http://youtu.be/ewJLlu3lddo (video of Ivan at Atlanta Zoo)
http://youtu.be/GCi2-dChYt8 (Watch the video to learn more about the silverback gorilla. Find out how you can adopt a gorilla. Would this be something you would be interested in?) (Post your answer.)
3. Imagine you are Ivan. Write about a day in your life. Make sure you use Ivan's voice. (Post your writing.)
29 comments:
The author based her story on a silverback gorrila who was held captive in a glass cage for 27 years, and then transfered to a zoo. She would have to research how captive animals behave, silverback griila's and animal abuse.
Katherine Applegate based her story on an ape named Ivan who was isolated in a mall in Africa for 27 years. After a bunch of outcrys and impassioned letters from the public, they finally released Ivan and sent him to the Atlanta Zoo. The Atlanta Zoo has the largest population of gorillas.
The research Katherine would have done is to look into the newspaper and see if there are more articles about Ivan. Also, she probably would have look online to find out as much as she could about Ivan the gorilla.
She based her story on a gorilla named Ivan. He lived in Africa and then put in a glass box for 27 years in a mall in Tacoma, Washington. Then Ivan was sent to Zoo Atlanta, and it has a large population of gorillas. To write the book she would have had to go to Zoo Atlanta and actually see Ivan. And she would also have to read newspapers with stories about Ivan.
She based her story on a true story of a Silverback Gorilla named Ivan. He used to live in Africa and then he was put in a glass box for 27 years! He was in that glass box in a mall in Tacoma, Washington. People kept complaining and writing notes about how this was cruel and aventually he was sent to Zoo Atlanta. It had a very large population of gorillas so people thought it was the best place for him to go.
She would probably have to do some research about the behavior of silverback gorillas to figure out the real voice of Ivan. Then she would also have to go to the zoo to see him and see how he was doing and what he was feeling to write about how he felt in the zoo because they wouldn't post how he was doing once he was in the zoo because there wouldn't be a problem anymore.
K.A.Applegate based her story on Ivan, a very poorly treated Gorilla. He was taken all the way from his family, and he lived in Africa. Now he's in Atlanta, but she based her story on the interesting way he got there.
The research she would need to do would be on the Silverback Gorilla and the elephant and actions of a stray dog, in order to know how it could respond to things in the book
I think the author based her story on a silverback gorilla that was kept in a cage for a long time, and then gets transferred to a zoo. She would probably use books, newspapers and a computer to reasearch for the book.
I think that Katherine Applegate based her story on friendship and hope, because that is what the trailer said. I think to write this story, Katherine Applegate would need to do research on silverback gorillas by using books, the internet and she probably went to see the real Ivan to see what he was like.
Katherine Applegate based her story on a silverback gorilla named Ivan who was living in a glass box for 27 years before he was transferred to Zoo Atlanta. To write this story she would need to read storys about Ivan and find out about silverback gorillas. She went to the zoo to see Ivan but it was very rainy and he wouldn't come out. Katherine didn't mind she said it's good he can make his own decisions.
Katherine Applegate based her story on a silverback gorilla named Ivan. To write this story,she might have researched the Atlanta Zoo to learn about the place Ivan moved to. She also would need to research silverback gorillas to know how they act and what their personalities might be like. Katherine Applegate also went to the Atlanta Zoo to visit Ivan-the main character in her book.
Hello! My name is Ivan. Today will most likely be just another day. No exciting events. Well, actually all the people that visit me think that I am exciting along with the elephant and the dog and the clown. Really, I am not exciting to myself. Days are boring and long. Young children tapping on my glass and making strange faces at me. They think it’s funny. To me it is not.
I hope that someday soon, something exciting would happen to me. Something that would amuse me. But no - nothing exciting happens to me. Another name would not be nice - I already have so many like “the ape at exit 8” and “the freeway gorilla” and “the one and only Ivan, mighty silverback”. What I really want is a companion like me - someone to protect and care for.
Outside my box is the open – there are no trees or forests nearby.
A child is coming up to my box – my domain, my area. It pounds on the glass. Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! I frown. Do you know how it feels to be inside a glass box and someone is pounding as hard as they can on it? I do. It gives you a headache. It is quite annoying.
The child has stopped pounding now and has run off – I didn’t get mad or beat my chest. It ran off because I didn’t respond how it wanted me to.
Now the clown (he isn’t dressed up as one right now) is coming toward my box. He has something in has hand – a parcel all wrapped up. He goes back behind my box and opens up a small door where food is put in. Instead of food, he pushes the parcel into my cage.
“Happy Birthday, Ivan!” he says.
My birthday? Today is my birthday? There are so many long days in a year that I don’t count the time in between.
I look at the parcel.
“Aren’t you going to open it?” he asks.
I tear off the paper to find a stick and a ball.
Once the paper was off, he said, “It’s a baseball and a bat.”
I took the bat in my hands. I swung it against the side of my box.
The man laughed. He said, “You hit the ball with the bat – not your box!”
I put down the bat and picked up the ball. I hurtled the ball against the side of my box like I did with the bat. The glass cracked.
“Now look what you’ve done, Ivan!”
He grabbed the ball from me.
“I don’t think you should have this anymore. You can keep the bat if you don’t hurt the glass.”
Oh, my! I hurt my glass. Oh, well. At least I can keep the bat – something to amuse myself during the long hours of the day.
Wow. I wished for this day to be exciting – it sure was. I had no idea that today is my birthday. I highly doubt tomorrow will be so interesting, though.
he keeps the ball, not the bat katherine
Another boring day at the cage, I wish that I could at least walk around outside for a bit, but that would be 'dangerous', so I don't. Ahh, some days are better than others, like my last birthday when... wait! the hole in my cage from my bat! I swiftly walk over to a bush, which was supposed to block the hole, but I still remember...and yes! it is still ther. I pick up a fake tree branch, which is even bigger than the bat, and heavier, stupid humans, and start chipping away the glass. Eventually there is a gorrila sized hole in the glass and I climb out. But where is everyone? and why is everything red and green? I walk around the mall, checking things out and see it, the most wonderfull thing ever, the fruit stand. after my fill of fruit the first person see's me, and instead of running, they come closer, holding a big banana. once he reaches me I feel really drowsy... and... and...zzzz. Once I wake up My owner tells me that they where preparing for there first "christmas" whatever that is, and I shouldn't ruin it, and then he slips me a cain made out of mints, yum.
Another boring day at the cage, I wish that I could at least walk around outside for a bit, but that would be 'dangerous', so I don't. Ahh, some days are better than others, like my last birthday when... wait! the hole in my cage from my bat! I swiftly walk over to a bush, which was supposed to block the hole, but I still remember...and yes! it is still there.
I pick up a fake tree branch, which is even bigger than the bat, and heavier, stupid humans, and start chipping away the glass. Eventually there is a gorilla sized hole in the glass and I climb out. But where is everyone? and why is everything red and green? I walk around the mall, checking things out and see it, the most wonderful thing ever, the fruit stand.
After my fill of fruit the first person see's me, and instead of running, they come closer, holding a big banana. once he reaches me I feel really drowsy... and... and...zzzz. Once I wake up My owner tells me that they where preparing for there first "Christmas" whatever that is, and I shouldn't ruin it, and then he slips me a cane made out of mints, yum
Katherine Applegate based her story on a silverback gorilla named Ivan. Ivan is in a mall with other animals to bring customers to the mall. He is stuck there looking around at a sea of people for 7 days a week 365 day a year. Katherine Applegate would have to do research about silverback gorillas and how they communicate with humans and other animals to make her book. Also what do silverback gorillas look like, what do they eat and how gorillas act in captivity.
Katherine Applegate based her story on a Silverback Gorilla, named Ivan, that has been captured and placed in a mall for 27 years.
She would have to research and find more about I van so she could make her story sort of true.
I was sitting in my cage, watching people pass 'The Ape at Exit 8'. Sometimes children would stop and pound the glass leaving behind little fingerprints. I watch people go in and out of stores with full bags of stuff. I wonder what the people buy sometimes. I look around my cage trying to find something to do, and then I see my little blue crayon Julia gave me. I will draw something. I get a peice of paper and start making lines.
Eventually I finish my drawing of Stella, the elephant. It is plain though, not colourful and dreamy like Julia's drawings. My drawings are ordinary. I hold it up against the glass for people to see. Some people stop to see my drawing. They say "Look what The One and Only Ivan drew!" They were fascinated for a while until they got bored. The mall closed and I went to sleep, maybe I'll draw something else tomorrow.
Involving the adoption, I might and my cousin has done things like this. He pays $50 a year to feed and pay for other needs of a Cheetah family who's parents died.
Hello, my name is Ivan. I am a silverback gorilla. I live in a glass box. People come to see me, an elephant, a dog and a clown. There are always people looking into my box, and tapping on the glass, trying to make me angry. It never works. I’m never angry.
Well, today’s no different. The crazy humans are tapping again. Tap, rap, rap, tap! That’s all I can hear! It’s so annoying! Then the kids get in an argument on how one pushed the other out of the way. Yep, right on cue. Humans are always fighting and arguing. Why can’t they just be happy?
Well, its show time! We start the show, and the people start to crowd in. Now then, here comes a different human. He is wearing ti-dye and lots of peace signs. “Let the animals go! Let them live!” The man says. A lot of people wearing the same as him come in and yell “free the animals!” well waving signs. They jump onto the stage. The people in ti-die started rapping on my glass cage very hard. Mack yelled at the people to leave me alone, but they didn’t. Then more of them came, and rattled the other cages. Mack tried to stop them, but there were to many of them! The rapping and rattling is giving me a head ache!
More people come. They tell the ti-dye people to go away. The ti-dye people finely go away! Mack says, “Now that there gone, let’s get on with the show!” The rest of the show goes smoothly, with no interruptions. When the show is over, Mack tells me to just ignore people whom do that. I always do that. Today was no exception.
Hello, I am a Silverback Gorilla named Ivan, I am the ape at exit 8, so if you think that you would see a roaring mad gorilla, you would best look in a zoo. Another boring day in exit 8 in a stinky, smelly old glass cage that everyone pounds on, I wish that I could just go on a rampage, break the glass and take over this mall. The people here, they can`t get enough, all they do is shop, shop, and eat all day, they can`t get enough. A young child comes over, hits the cage, it make a wierd ring go though the glass, the child sticks his nose on the glass and runs away. I really wish that someday, I will meet someone whom I can protect. Maybe, just maybe, tomorrow will be different.
Hello my name is Ivan. I have been in this glass box for quite a while. I think today will be like any other. Not very exciting I might eat a bannana or look out at the world beyond the mall. Once and a while some little children and there parents come to my box and they press their sweaty hands against the glass and leave their fingerprints behind. Then suddenly the clown's daughter, Julia came over to my box and passed me a blue crayon through a crack that I had made when the clown gave me a bat and a baseball. I hit the side of the box with the bat and he said,
"No Ivan you're supposed to hit the ball with the bat not your cage!" and so he took away the bat and left the ball. So anyway back to the crayon. She also gave me a sheet of paper. Then she demonstated what to do. She put the crayon the paper and drew a line then another and after a while alll the line transformed into the sun and trees and clouds that smile. I tried to I drew a bannana. When other people came to see me they tried to guess what it was.
"It's a airplane!"
"It's a bird!" They made all these wild guesses that weren't even near to what it was, but it dosn't matter, I knew what it was, it was a perfectly well drawn bananna. I may have thought this would be a boring day, but it was actually okay. I might draw something new tommorow, but really who knows what tommorow will bring!
-Lindsay
Ivan’s Story
2013.04.04
It’s another day in my cage. Another 24 hours of loneliness. Another 3 times I have to entertain humans. My cage is located at exit eight. I continue to draw, as I always do when I’m not performing, when a boy with banana coloured hair walks up to my cage. He comes up and presses his nose against the glass. I come up to him, slowly, and look at this strange looking creature, when a bigger human comes and takes him away.
“Come on Ivan, let’s go get some cotton candy,” she says.
The human is also named Ivan! I have never met another creature with my name before, so I turn to the direction that he left, and press my nose to the glass. When it’s been three hours, I realize he is not coming back; I go to the middle of my cage and try to draw a picture of him. I have some bananas, which just reminds me about Ivan’s hair.
It’s almost time for a show. I prepare myself, and then I am led to where I need to perform. I come out, and in the front seat, I see Ivan! He is there, with a big smile on his face, eating a pink, fluffy cloud. I hear the whole crowd yelling “Ivan, Ivan!” I turn around and beat my fists against my chest and yell, and the crowd goes wild. Then, just like that, my time is over and I have to go. It’s night time, and I go to the center of my cage, and watch the strange, coloured boxes on wheels move away from the place, until my eyes get heavy and I fall asleep.
~THE END~
My day in Ivan's shoes.
I remember a while ago when I drew a great picture of a dragon. Julia thinks it was great anyway, not anyone else saw it. She's begining to teach me to write.
I write "Hi" like "/=| ;"
and "Julia" like "]vL;q"
Another boring day at the cage, I wish that I could at least walk around outside for a bit, but that would be 'dangerous'.So I don't. Ahh, some days are better than others, like my last birthday when... wait! the hole in my cage from my bat! I swiftly walk over to a bush, which was supposed to block the hole, but I still remember...and yes! it is still there.
I pick up a fake tree branch, which is even bigger than the bat, and heavier, stupid humans, and start chipping away the glass. Eventually there is a gorilla sized hole in the glass and I climb out. But where is everyone? and why is everything red and green? I walk around the mall, checking things out and see it, the most wonderful thing ever, the fruit stand.
After my fill of fruit the first person sees me, and instead of running, they come closer, holding a big banana. once he reaches me I feel really drowsy... and... and...zzzz( not a banana, sedatives :P) . Once I wake up My owner tells me that they where preparing for there first "Christmas" whatever that is, and I shouldn't ruin it, and then he slips me a cane made out of mints, okay then I think, and eat it
I would not be interested in adopting a gorilla.
-Beth
Hello there, my name is Ivan, I am a silverback gorilla living in a mall-a "shopping centre" as Mack calls it too me it is a place were humans try too hunt for clothing-just off the "Highway"-a large centre were humans travel freely. this morning I was in my box, sleeping on the ground when I was awoken by the sound of two slimy chimps, who, looked a bit older than Julia, one said "Come on wake up you big oaf" and prodded me with a stick through hole I made with my bat. the other said "Yeah, get up!" the other one prodded me again then the one with the stick said" c'mon lets go he's not gonna do anything." I knew what they wanted too happen, they wanted me get angry but I am never angry. at the lunch hour- as Mack calls it-Mack came to me and said "Ivan we're going too do something extra special today, for the first time ever, you, are going too perform!" I was surprised by this because earlier Mack would've just said your fine bring you. he said that all I had too do was stand up there and beat my chest. I was nervous because when I first looked out there the audience looked like a rainbow sky lots of fluffy candy(Mack says it is sweet stuff, but I still think it looks like a cloud too me). at the first show, everything goes to plan the next show, a man dressed nicely in a suit walks in, and we didn't do the show "because something terrible could happen while that man is here" said Mack at the third show, someone through a tomato at me and then Mack had to talk too him about what might happen if I got angry.
Later Mack came too my box and said "Lets no do that again shall we?" and I nodded then he said "Who knows what could've happened if you got angry? hehe"
but I, am never, angry. -Luke Seely
sorry bout the other one.
Hello my name is Ivan, most chimps call me the ape at exit 8 but I am just Ivan. Everyday I am put in a glass cage to be shown off in front of a crowd of sweaty chimps. The chimps carry around little black boxes that they speak into, everyone has one and they look very weird. Little chimps run around screaming, putting their hands on my cage and leaving there sweaty palm prints. Far off in the distance, I can see a highway that goes on as far as my eyes can see, with metal boxes swerving and honking in every direction. I have no one to protect in my cage but myself. Suddenly, I am awaken by a sea of chimps chanting, “free Ivan, free Ivan”. I am in a truck being driven away from my cage. I feel sick being in this metal box driven to a unknown location. Suddenly the box stops and my age is taken to a door and I am guided threw a door and I am amazed of how much space I have. Off in the distance I can see silverback gorillas; finally I am with my own kind!
Hi I am Ivan, the ape at exit 8 it is another day in my clear box and another small hairless ape is pounding on it, thump, thump, thump, thump. My head is about to explode. Well, it was until Julia came up and saved me of that bordomness stuff she said, “leave the ape alone unless you want to be run over by an angry ape.” After that, the kid didn’t come back.
“ Hey, Ivan, I have something for you!” she said, holding out a dirt-coloured-wierdly-shaped-squary-thingy. I took it from her hands ( she was now in my box with me ) it was light. then I took the stuff off and guess what that revealed? A blue stick and a red orange. Then she said, “happy birthday Ivan!!”
What is a birthday? I am totally confused, so I take the stick and whack my box with it. It made a whamming sound wham!!! Then it made a cracking sound. I looked over at my box. I hurt my box! :( . Julia said,”oh Ivan, you can’t hurt your box!” then she left, with the stick. Oh well I still had the orange. I plopped it in my mouth...ewww!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it tasted like rubber! I spit it out. yuck! gross! anyway, then I watched as Julia walked over to the clown and hand the stick to him.
by Beth
Another boring day spent sitting in my glass cage at the 'shopping center' at 'exit 8.' Sweaty little people, slamming at the glass, even though they shouldn't. Is this really what the rest of my life is going to be. Just...sitting here. Entertaining these sweaty 'humans' who think there so much better than us gorrilas. By the way, my name is 'The one and only Ivan, Silverback Gorilla'. I'm also known as the 'Exit 8 Gorilla'. Life is really boring for me, I just sit here all day, play a bit with my 'Baseball Bat' that I got for my 'Birthday'. After a few more hours of being stared at by wide eyes, another child came up to my cage, and STICKED HIS POSTERIOR AT MY FACE. Now, I knew that these humans were disgusting, but this kid took the cake. He then started slapping the glass repeatedly, sticking his tounge out like a dog. He started talking, but I couldn't hear him. After about three minutes of this, mall security came and 'escorted' this boy away from my cage. He turned one last time and stuck his tounge out at me, making a gesture with his hand that looked like this: L. I don't know what that means, but I'm guessing it was something rude. Well, that's how the day went, pretty much. I guess I'll go and see what Julia is drawing now...
-=THE-END=-
By:Aidan
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