The One and Only Ivan

The One and Only Ivan

By Katherine Applegate

Just finished this one last night...sniffling, wiping my eyes a little, I'll admit. I can understand why it was selected for a Newberry medal.
Told simply but powerfully, from the perspective of a gorilla locked in a cage (for 27 years!) in a shopping mall, this novel is based--sadly--on a true story.
But author Katherine Applegate gives Ivan some special friends to keep him company in her story, including a stray dog and a couple of amazing elephants...and Ivan, who is a dedicated artist, really perseveres against all odds.

Bomb

Bomb: The race to build--and steal--the world's most dangerous weapon
By Steve Sheinkin

Steve Sheinkin tells the gripping true tale of the construction of the first atomic bomb, dropped on Japan and ultimately ending WWII.
A story chock full of the world's "greatest scientists,  the most expert spies, hardened military commandos, and some of the most ruthless dictators who ever lived. The prize: military dominance over the entire world."
Read and find out what it took to build such a weapon, and why it is so important for countries to avoid using them now.