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The One and Only Ivan
Trailblazers · 4th–6th
First she watched him for a long time, chewing on her thumbnail. I could tell she was looking at him the way an artist looks at the world when she’s trying to understand it.
He was smart and cunning, but his gaze was wistful. Under the picture were three bold, confident marks, circled in black.
Read both passages aloud. Ivan says the dog in Julia’s picture was “smart and cunning, but his gaze was wistful.” How can one dog be both?
Narration Tell back what happens, in order, from Mack’s yellow crayon to the beetle by Ivan’s pool.
1. The boy spits at Ivan’s window, and the girl throws pebbles. Ivan says, “Sometimes I’m glad the glass is there.” After the visitors come back, he says, “Sometimes I wish the glass were not there.” Why might the glass feel so different to him the second time?Character
2. Ivan says he is sorry for calling the visitors “slimy chimps.” Then he says, “My mother would be ashamed of me.” Why might Ivan think of his mother when he feels sorry?Moral reasoning
3. Mall workers called, “Here, doggie,” and held out food, but the little dog always ran off. Julia watched him for a long time, and then she drew him. His name was under her picture. She said, “I had to draw him first.” Why might she have to draw him before she knew his name?Inference
4. Mack picks up Ivan’s first drawing. “Another day, another scribble,” he says. Later he gives George money to buy Julia “some more crayons.” Why might the same man do both?Character
5. Ivan says, “Gerald was my favorite keeper.” But the person he remembers most is Mack, “day in and day out, year after year after year.” Why might Ivan remember Mack more than his favorite?Inference
Make a Connection Think of a story, or a time in your own life, when someone looked closely at something and saw what others missed. What helped that person see it?
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Bob is not always tactful.
Under the picture were three bold, confident marks, circled in black.
Before Mack can stomp, the beetle skitters away, disappearing through a crack in the wall.
He was smart and cunning, but his gaze was wistful.
I am sure I would excel at homework.
I strut across my domain for them.
I am an elegant fellow in her pictures, with my silver back gleaming like moon on moss.
When I think about all the people who have taken care of me, mostly it’s Mack I recall, day in and day out, year after year after year.
I remember how he gave me a coconut when I was still a juvenile.
1. Mack sees “A big, black nothing” in Ivan’s drawing. Julia finds a beetle and says, “I know a beetle when I see one.” Does Julia understand Ivan, or only his drawing?
2. Ivan says, “I think I may be a little tired of my domain.” Bob answers, “That’s because it’s a cage,” and Stella says, “It’s a very small domain.” Why might Stella use Ivan’s word and not Bob’s?
3. Stella tells Ivan there is a difference between “can’t remember” and “won’t remember.” Should Ivan try to remember, or is he better off forgetting?