The One and Only Ruby is the third in a series featuring "The One and Only Ivan" and "The One and Only Bob". In the same vein as the first two, Ruby is written through the point of view of the titular character, who is an animal, in this case an elephant. Now that it's been a couple months since what happened in "Bob", Ruby and her friends are now living in a wildlife sanctuary rather than a mall window. When someone from Ruby's past in Africa comes to visit, it reminds her of all the memories she has of that place. This story is essentially Ruby telling her friends Ivan and Bob about Africa and about the caretaker that is visiting.

The One and Only Ruby is a cute novel that definitely lives up to its previous works. It's not every day that you feel you can relate to an elephant, but Katherine Applegate creates Ruby and her pals so vividly, that it's easy to forget we are not the same.

Katherine Applegate is a master storyteller. The story of Ruby, the baby elephant in The One and Only Ivan, is devastating, yet filled with hope. Ruby was once a wild elephant in Africa. She was born and raised with her mother's herd. But tragedy hit and Ruby and her mom were starving and dehydrated due to dwindling resources and human encroachment. Ruby is orphaned and it starts a series of interventions and heists (not the good ones) to save her life or control her life. Her story is both tragic and inspired as she navigates Tuskday with her new family at a wildlife preserve: she has to celebrate the one thing that was directly linked to her mother's death: her tusks. Told with honesty and tears, Ruby shares her past to her Uncle Ivan and her Uncle Bob after she meets a kind soul from her past.

Have tissues ready!

This novel would pair perfectly with the picture book: Mother of Elephants!

I have been a fan of this series for years and I was very happy to see this title. I think fans of the series will enjoy it.

The One and Only series continues this time through the perspective of Ruby. Bob and Ivan are still present as well as Ruby's friends at the zoo she now lives at. Ruby's back story is uncovered through this novel in verse. Recommended for grades 4-7

Cute, part of the one and only Bob line that my girls both enjoyed.
Similar feel and writing style which made it an easy read.

Nobody tells stories better than Katherine Applegate. The LOVE I have for these characters is deep. She knocked it out of the park yet again with The One and Only Ruby, and it was simply delightful to be back in the world of Ivan, Bob, and Ruby.

I was so happy to see these characters in another adventure, and to learn all about Ruby's back story. While much of her story is very difficult and sad, Ruby maintains optimism and hope. This book explores her growth and the others that guided her along the way. Katherine Applegate once again examines animal rights and acknowledges that while animals living in their own natural habitats in the wild is always preferable, zoos are sometimes the best option in certain cases and that there is value in learning about wildlife in these ways. I have absolutely loved getting to know Ivan, Bob and Ruby and hope to see these friends again in the future.

I have been waiting for a story featuring Ruby - and Katherine Applegate doesn’t disappoint! After hearing about Ivan and Bob, our girl Ruby takes us on another adventure this time recounting the time she spent in the African Savannah. This book will transport you and readers if all ages!

Katherine Applegate does it again. Starting with The One and Only Ivan then The One and Only Bob we now get Ruby's story in The One and Only Ruby. The difficult topics of poaching and mistreatment of animals is written with gentleness and love. The reader will understand Ruby's reticence in talking about her past and praise her for having the courage to so.

Ruby is ready for her tusk ceremony, but she isn't looking forward to it. As the day comes, she is unaware of the significance of tusks and worries recalling her early experiences with her herd in Africa. Ruby tells Ivan and Bob what happened to her mother and how she ended up in the mall enclosure with Stella before arriving at the sanctuary where they are now. Ruby's story is one of strength, sorrow, love, and encouragement, but it's also a lesson about poaching and the major environmental impacts that have resulted from it.

I read the entire series with my children, and while we all enjoyed them, we thought Ruby's story to be the most forced and childish in the beginning. The influence of Ruby's experience (and elephants alike) changes the tone of the novel and its impact on the reader as the story unfolds and she reveals her past with Ivan and Bob. This is an important story for teaching youngsters (and adults) about the environmental consequences of their behavior. We appreciated Applegate's afterword, which included elephant facts and resources. Each book in this series encourages readers to cultivate empathy and, ideally, to alter course now to aid our future.

The One and Only Ruby was such a cute and heartwarming book. I typically read children’s books with my kids, but this one I read in my own. Ruby is a spunky “teenager” who is preparing for her Tusk Day with her newfound herd of elephants. She is apprehensive of her emerging tusks because when she was in the wild, tusks meant potential harm from poachers. Ruby recounts her journey from the wild, to an elephant sanctuary in Africa, to a mall in America, and finally to a zoo where she lives with her “uncles” Ivan and Bob. Her story is sad and happy and everything in between. She has loved and lost and found her home with her friends at the zoo. She learns that family isn’t only blood, but all of the wonderful animals (and humans) she has met along the way.
Thank you to NetGalley and Katherine Applegate for an advanced copy of this book!

The One and Only Ruby by Katherine Applegate is a very sweet story about an elephant named Ruby. I instantly fell in love with Ruby and my heart broke for her, but I appreciated the life lessons she learned as she approached her Tusk Day. I highly recommend this book--especially if you have read The One and Only Ivan! Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read this book! My review is also on Goodreads.

The third book in the One and Only series is focused on Ruby's stories about her time in Africa. As always, Ivan, Bob, and Ruby's bond captivated my family's attention. Our kids had a hard time deciding which was their favorite book in this series. This book definitely has some sad parts so we want to give fair warning for any sensitive readers.

However, if you are a Katherine Applegate lover, this book does not disappoint. Once again, Applegate makes our list of best middle-grade books of 2023! Thank you for our gifted copy of this book.

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review.

This book was selected for me to read by my 12 year old daughter, who loved the first two books in the series. I was really hoping that would mean that she would read it too, but weirdly no such luck on that score. Once I started reading, I realized why she likely enjoys these books. I think it's because the chapters are short and the language is fairly simple. Words that may be outside of the standard vocabulary of the target audience are defined by a character very shortly after their use, which is definitely a bonus for building vocabulary.

Even though I've never read the first two books in the series, I didn't feel like that was necessary for this story. It is all about Ruby, and any mention of Ivan and Bob really comes down to how they are connected to Ruby. I also got some background on how Ivan, Bob and Ruby all came to know each other.

If you have a hesitant reader on your hands, this book would definitely be great for them because the chapters are so short. Encouraging them to just read a chapter or two a day shouldn't yield too much resistance because of the brevity, and they may just get sucked into the story and keep reading on their own.

Overall I give The One and Only Ruby 4.174 out of 5 stars.

I love this series! Katherine Applegate is one of my favorite authors and I anxiously awaited this book release. I enjoy reading books from animals' perspectives, as I think it sheds light on our world and who we share the world with. Animals have their own special way of thinking and I think that is so fascinating.

I did tear up at some parts of this book but overall, the positive tone of the book was uplifting. I loved the story of Ruby and how she came to live with her current tribe. The ceremony was so interesting to read about.

Immediately added this book to my elementary library and so many of my students were excited to get their hands on it.

A wonderful addition to the One and Only series books by Katherine Applegate.

You can't help but cry and cheer for Ruby as she adapts to her new life. The reader will identify with Ruby's own feelings about change, loss, and acceptance.

These books are wonderfully written and I am happy to have spent time with Ruby (and other familiar faces!)

Another great story by Ms Applegate! I have loved all the books in this series and my students are going to eat this most recent one up! Thank you NetGalley for the the opportunity to read this awesome book!

Loved Ivan and Bob and enjoy sharing them with my class, but this one wasn’t as good. It felt like it was more about the author’s agenda than a fun, feel good story for kids. Really too bad, because there were so many spots that would’ve been great for teaching. I think the kids would be bored reading it though. It was really just Ruby narrating a long story of how she got to where she is and how humans want to get elephant tusks (poaching.) It was just an odd feel for a children’s book.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my free advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I am prefacing this review with the fact that I am not personally a huge fan of animal stories. That said, I read and enjoyed The One and Only Ivan and Katherine Applegate does such an outstanding job of writing from their perspective that I knew this would be good.

This story has Ruby telling Ivan and Bob how she came to America and wound up with them. As with Ivan, Ruby's story tells of the natural intelligence that elephants have and introduces readers to what their lives are like. This story also brings in some other important lessons, like how elephants are killed for their tusks, how they are forced out of their homes for peoples' entertainment, and about how we, as people, treat each other.

I highly recommend this for anyone who loved Ivan.

In each of the prior books in this trilogy, Applegate uses an immediate threat as a method for the protagonist to acknowledge and eventually work through trauma from their past. In Ivan we meet the character of Ruby, a tiny elephant who has lost her whole family and faces a life in captivity. She is an innocent who drives Ivan to act. In Bob we see a Ruby who has started to develop more personality. She's found a family and has begun to prove that she is capable of helping. And finally in this book we have Ruby as a complete character. We see her largely as a sunny, positive "kid" but we also see the trauma of her past. We see how her experiences in Africa have driven a deep fear of change into her. The threat here is less immediate. There is no abusive owner, no natural disaster. Just Ruby and her fears. In this volume Applegate completes her trifecta of the affects of trauma on a character and the ways it causes us to behave. Each book provides something different to the reader and is worth reading in it's own right. As with the other two books, this volume talks about animal cruelty in a plainspoken but never graphic way, so be aware of that if you're intending to give this book to an especially sensitive young reader.