Children's Audiobooks · Teen & Young Adult
The One and Only Ivan
Editorial direction by Kevin CravediFounder, Recommended Audiobooks
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Recommendation DNA i
Established Profile
Narrative and listener evidence are still growing.
Inspired by the true story of a captive gorilla, *The One and Only Ivan* is told through Ivan’s thoughtful first-person perspective. For twenty-seven years, Ivan has lived behind the glass walls of the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, where he has grown accustomed to being watched by humans. He spends his days thinking about television, creating art, and visiting with his friends Stella, an elderly elephant, and Bob, a stray dog. Ivan rarely thinks about his former life in the jungle—until Ruby, a baby elephant taken from the wild, arrives at the mall.
Her presence prompts Ivan to see their enclosure, his own art, and the lives they lead through new eyes. As Ruby faces an uncertain future, Ivan must decide how to use his creativity and newfound understanding to help make a change for the better. This illustrated story explores friendship, art, and hope with humor and poignancy.
Evidence Confidence
Why this matters →- The book itself is well identified and supported across independent sources.
- We still have limited information tied to this exact recording or edition.
- We have recording-specific performance commentary or analyzed audio for this audiobook.
We have a useful picture of the audiobook, though some listening and edition-specific details are still becoming clearer.
Evidence Snapshot i
These cards measure different things in the same evidence pool, so they are not meant to add together. Retained Evidence counts unique saved records; discussions and networks count independent groups; narration and edition cards count only records qualified for those specific jobs.
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Supporting sources 15
What this means
Unique evidence records that remain after filtering and deduplication. The larger evidence-signal total shown below can be higher because one retained record may support several separate facts or observations.
Source groups 11
What this means
Separate reviews, forums, interviews, or conversations, with duplicates kept from inflating the total.
Networks 46
What this means
Different platforms and publications represented in the research behind this page.
Supporting sources 1
What this means
Performance evidence that can actually describe how this narrator sounds or performs this recording. Identity records, narrator biographies, sample links, and awards are useful context but do not count here on their own.
Supporting sources 3
What this means
Sources tied to the audiobook recording itself, such as verified product or catalog records that help resolve narrator, runtime, format, release information, or stable recording identifiers.
What this means
The most recent date this page’s saved evidence picture was refreshed and checked.
A larger evidence pool gives us more to work with, but volume alone does not make a conclusion stronger. Relevance and independence still matter.
What the Evidence Adds
Useful context the synopsis doesn’t cover — patterns that may help you decide whether this book is your kind of read or listen.
Humor
Humor is a meaningful part of the book’s personality and helps shape how the story lands.
Emotional Impact
Emotional stakes are a noticeable part of the book, rather than the story operating only at the level of plot or ideas.
Romance
Romance is a central part of the story rather than a small side thread.
Built from 292 retained source records across 22 independent discussions and 13 source networks.
Awards & Recognition
What counts here
Narrator Experience
What we can responsibly verify about the narrator and this recording.
How we build this section
The narrator credit can be shown, but a performance description waits for qualified recording-specific commentary or a verified analyzable excerpt.
Verified against the exact title, author, and narrator. Opens the Amazon sample page.
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Evidence behind this section
Counts describe support for this narrator/recording, not a quality score.Why we describe the performance this way
We use evidence tied specifically to this recording. Repeated observations across independent sources carry more weight than isolated comments. Narrator background and career recognition can add useful context, but they do not determine how this performance is described.
View source groups 10 groups · 37 records
What the Story Feels Like
How this works
What this means
There are enough ideas, details, characters, or structural layers that closer attention is likely to pay off.
Why it appears: Book information and independent reader or listener observations that speak directly to this trait; recording-specific claims are kept separate unless they are actually supported.
What this means for you: It is also fairly dense, so names, ideas, or shifts in the story may reward closer attention.
Built from the book and story evidence that speaks directly to these traits; it does not describe an unverified recording.
Where Readers Agree
The strongest agreement centers on story quality and complexity. The leading theme appears across 4 independent discussions and 4 source networks, which makes it more than a one-off reaction.
The strongest theme is independently supported across 4 discussions and 4 source networks.
Evidence sources for agreement
Is This Right for You?
Story and reader-fit guidance remains useful here. Recording-specific claims are limited to evidence matched to this exact edition.
You’ll probably enjoy this if…
- You are looking for a children's audiobooks story.
- You are looking for a teen & young adult story.
- You are comfortable with dense complexity.
It might not be the best fit if…
- If narration style is important to you, use the verified sample above alongside the edition-matched performance evidence.
Our Take
The One and Only Ivan sits comfortably in children's audiobooks and teen & young adult territory. The story is better characterized than the recording right now, so the recommendation stays grounded in the book itself. Story Quality is one of the more consistent strengths readers point to. The narrator is confirmed, but the book itself is easier to characterize than this particular performance. Until the recording has stronger support, the narrator credit is useful context rather than a performance verdict. Verified recognition adds another useful point of context, especially when it belongs to this audiobook or narrator, but it does…
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Runtime & Edition Details
- Runtime
- 3 hours and 46 minutes
- Format
- Unabridged audiobook
- Publisher
- Storytide
- Audiobook release date
- March 14, 2013
- Language
- English
- ASIN
- B00BJ85XP4
Why You Can Trust This Recommendation
- Identity and edition signals are checked separately
- Independent discussions and source networks are counted distinctly
- Narration claims require edition- or narrator-specific support
- Unsupported information is withheld instead of displayed as a zero score
292 evidence records remain in the research set behind this page after filtering and deduplication.
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Ready to experience The One and Only Ivan?
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