Reading 10 · nervous to the ape artist · The One and Only Ivan

Copywork

I watch Ruby trudge sullenly through the four-o’clock show, and I wonder: What will happen if I fail? What if I can’t make Julia understand? But of course I know the answer. Nothing.

Julia starts to answer, but then she freezes. She cocks her head. She stares at her feet, where my pictures lie in disarray.

Read the second passage aloud. Julia starts to answer her dad, then she stops and looks down. Why might the author slow the story down right here?

For the educator Two passages, in story order. The passage from the section titled “nervous” is four sentences. Its opening sentence joins two clauses with a comma and “and”, then uses a colon to bring in a question that starts with a capital letter. A second question follows, with the apostrophe in “can’t”, then a sentence that begins “But”, and a one-word sentence. The word “four-o’clock” carries a hyphen and an apostrophe. The passage stops just before “Nothing will happen.”; the paragraph after that is where the first written question begins. The passage from the section titled “puzzle pieces” is three sentences. The first joins two actions with a comma and “but then”; the second is four words long; the third adds a clause after a comma that begins “where”. The vocabulary words “sullenly” and “disarray” come from these passages, one from each. The talk prompt asks about the passage from “puzzle pieces”: three short sentences in which Julia starts to answer George, freezes, and looks down at the pieces.

Discussion

Narration Tell this reading back in order, from Ivan too nervous to nap to his talk with Bob after Ruby falls asleep.

Ivan picks Julia because “She’s an artist.” But at first she only calls his pictures pretty. Did being an artist help Julia see Ivan’s picture, or get in the way? Character
Julia says Ivan is still upset: “Look at his eyes.” George calls it a temper tantrum. But he can’t blame Ivan, “stuck in that tiny cage all these years.” Which of them sees Ivan more clearly? Inference
Ruby sees herself in the picture and asks, “Where am I supposed to be?” Ivan tells her it’s a zoo. What does Ruby think the picture is for? Character
George says no again and again: “Mack’ll fire me, Jules.” In the end he never says yes. He tells Julia, quietly, where the ladder is. Why doesn’t he just say yes? Moral reasoning
A man from the paper comes to take photos of Ivan. Mack asks for one more: himself with his arm around Ruby. What does Mack want that photo to say? Inference

Make a Connection Think of a story, or a time in your own life, when someone made a sign or a poster to help someone else. What did they hope it would do?

Vocabulary

sullenly: I watch Ruby trudge sullenly through the four-o’clock show In a gloomy, unhappy way, with no spirit left.
attraction: Ruby will remain the main attraction at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade Something people come to see, like a show they pay for.
disarray: She stares at her feet, where my pictures lie in disarray. A scattered, messy state, with nothing in order.
assemble: An hour passes as they try to assemble my puzzle. To fit pieces together into one whole.
logical: I’m just saying there has to be a logical explanation. Following clear reasons that make sense.
publicity: But think of the publicity, Dad! Attention from many people when news of something spreads far.
principle: It’s a matter of principle, Dad. A belief about right and wrong that a person stands by.
progress: A work in progress. Moving forward bit by bit, as a job still being added to.
bellow: I screech and bellow. To roar in a deep, loud voice.

Critical thinking

Ivan pictures Ruby’s life if his plan fails, and he sounds like a billboard: “conveniently located off I-95”. Why might he think about Ruby in the words of an ad?
Mack tells a caller, “It was my idea.” It wasn’t. So whose idea was the billboard?
Ivan’s billboard brings crowds, a newspaper story and new names like the Ape Artist. But Ruby still plods through the sawdust at two, four and seven. Has Ivan’s plan worked?