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Disney to Adapt Newbery Medal-Winning 'The One and Only Ivan'

by Ethan Anderton
April 9, 2014
Source: THR

After spending 60 consecutive weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and winning the Newbery Medal, the children's novel The One and Only Ivan from author Katherine Applegate will get the big screen treatment. Complete with gorgeous illustrations by Patricia Castelao, the story follows a silverback gorilla named Ivan who has spent 27 years in a glass enclosure in a shopping mall, along with an elephant named Stella and stray dog named Bob. Ivan passes the days by painting and watching TV, with no memory of life before captivity, but when a new baby elephant from the wild arrives, flashes of his previous life come back.

As Ivan begins to remember life before the mall, he concocts a plan to take the baby elephant away from their abusive owner. The book is said to be in the same vein as Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little, with a timeless, classic nature and poignant storytelling. This isn't the first time Applegate's work has garnered a lot of interest since she also created the Animorphs book series back in the 90s. THR reports Allison Shearmur, who is producing Disney's forthcoming live-action take on Cinderella is behind the film, and a writer is being sought to adapt the book now. Sounds like a story the whole family can enjoy. Interested?

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