The One and Only Ruby by Katherine Applegate

Abstract

Reviewed by: The One and Only Ruby by Katherine Applegate Kate Quealy-Gainer, Editor Applegate, Katherine The One and Only Ruby; illus. by Patricia Castelao. Harper, 2023 [240p] Trade ed. ISBN 9780063080089 $19.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9780063080102 $12.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R Gr. 3-5 Little Ruby, the baby elephant featured in The One and Only Ivan (BCCB 02/12) and The One and Only Bob (BCCB 05/20) has come a long way since her time as a roadside attraction at The Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, and she's flourishing now in the care of her adopted herd at the Wildworld Zoological Park and Sanctuary. Lately, however, she's been plagued with worries about her upcoming Tuskday, when the other elephants in her herd will celebrate the arrival of her tusks. She's not interested in being the center of attention or having to give a speech—at [End Page 285] least, those are the reasons she gives to others about her anxiety. The truth, however, comes from a place of deeper trauma, and it's only revealed when she's encouraged by Ivan and Bob to talk about her experience as a baby on the African savanna. Applegate yet again shows her ability to explore grief and its lifelong ripples with a subtle tenderness, balancing the joy of Ruby's current life and relationships with the fact that Ruby only lives in the sanctuary because she lost a mother to poachers and was forcibly relocated multiple times (eventually to the U.S., where readers of previous books will know she lost yet another maternal figure). The direct narrative tone gives depth to her personality: Ruby can be as mischievous and playful as she is stubborn and sometimes angry. Ivan, Bob, and Ruby all share terrible experiences at the hands of ignorant and even cruel humans, and while Applegate shows their current caretakers as compassionate people, she never offers redemption to those that hurt the friends and acknowledges the traumas that will stay with the trio for a long time. An elephant glossary is provided in frontmatter while an author's note discussing conservation, ecotourism, and elephant endangerment concludes the book. Copyright © 2023 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois