The One and Only Bob

By Katherine Applegate

The One and Only Ivan is now a major motion picture available on Disney+!

Return to the unforgettable world of the Newbery Medal-winning and #1 New York Times bestselling novel The One and Only Ivan in this incredible sequel, starring Ivan’s friend Bob!

Bob sets out on a dangerous journey in search of his long-lost sister with the help of his two best friends, Ivan and Ruby. As a hurricane approaches and time is running out, Bob finds courage he never knew he had and learns the true meaning of friendship and family.

Bob, Ivan and Ruby have touched the hearts of millions of readers, and their story isn’t over yet. Catch up with these beloved friends before the star-studded film adaptation of The One and Only Ivan hits cinemas in August 2020!

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins UK
• Release date: May 14, 2020
• ISBN: 9780008390679

Katherine Applegate

After Katherine Applegate graduated from college, she spent time waiting tables, typing (badly), watering plants, wandering randomly from one place to the next with her boyfriend, and just generally wasting her time. When she grew sufficiently tired of performing brain-dead minimum-wage work, she decided it was time to become a famous writer. Anyway, a writer. Writing proved to be an ideal career choice, as it involved neither physical exertion nor uncomfortable clothing, and required no social skills. Ms. Applegate has written more than one hundred books under her own name and a variety of pseudonyms. She has no children, is active in no organizations, and has never been invited to address a joint session of Congress. She does, however, have an evil, foot-biting cat named Dick, and she still enjoys wandering randomly from one place to the next with her boyfriend.

Reviews for The One and Only Bob

[lindamamak · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Sequel to the award winning the One and Only Ivan. Bob is now living with Ruby but visits his friends at the mall requlally. A hurricane changes all of their lives and Bob gets to meet his sister.

[fingerpost_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The little dog, Bob, (from "The One and Only Ivan") now has a cushy life with a family, who goes to the zoo frequently, where he can visit Ivan the gorilla and Ruby the elephant. He is haunted by the memory of his sister, who he abandoned after they were thrown from a car as puppies. When a fierce hurricane comes through, Bob, Ivan and Ruby are all set free when the storm damages some of the zoo enclosures. And in the course of all the struggles with the storm and the zoo animals, Bob hears a bark he will never forget.In spite of the physical thickness of the book, it's a very quick read. A sweet story, which all takes place in one day, that left me with a few tears in the end.

[salsabrarian · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Bob's story unexpectedly resonated for me in this year of trauma, 2020. Bob is dogged (pun intended, yes) by the trauma of abandonment, scraping by as a stray dog, and of not saving Boss, his sister. It's hard for him to reconcile all that with the cush life he now leads living with Julia and her parents; given all that he's been through, does he really deserve it? When Hurricane Gus threatens destruction on all that Bob cares about including his best friends Ivan and Ruby, Bob digs down deep to overcome his mental barriers and find redemption. Not quite as fully formed as "The One and Only Ivan," but again it speaks so well to the current suffering we are in.

[bookwyrmm_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I was not really sure what to expect with this sequel to The One and Only Ivan, and the first part was mainly showcasing Bob's personality, but it did get real - but in a different way than Ivan - when a natural disaster hit.

[donnamariemerritt · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Katherine Applegate has a wonderful, distinctive voice, and I adored The One and Only Ivan. In the sequel, Bob, the dog, is cute and sweet and funny. The problem is that there is no plot. And nothing really happens until halfway through the book. I'm sure my young library patrons will enjoy it, but I was a bit disappointed.

[nx74defiant · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Pretty good. Bob the dog's point of view is very well done. Danny DeVito makes a good narrator. Not as good as the first book. Here a tornado hits the park.

[montzaleew · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The One and Only Bob (The One and Only Ivan #2) by Katherine Applegate was a great sequel to Ivan. I don't think it was as heartbreaking, which I am thankful for, but it had plenty of emotions. Bob is the little pup from book one that Julia now keeps. A lot happens in here that Bob deals with, some deals with how he feels about himself. I very touching story!

[fred_mouse · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is adorable. Very much a kids book, but manages to be fast paced and complex. The narrative voice and the unusually short chapters make for a very full on experience, helped along by the plot, the weather, and a sequence of difficult situations that require Bob to be more than they think they can be.I haven't read The One and Only Ivan, but one does not have to have done so to appreciate this sequel -- there are numerous references to previous events, but they are placed in sufficient context for this not to matter. For a reasonably fast adult reader this is ~1 hour read; I'd expect that a competent middle grade reader would be quite comfortable with the level of the story.

[blbooks-14314 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

First sentence: Look, nobody's ever accused me of being a good dog. I bark at empty air. I eat cat litter. I roll in garbage to enhance my aroma. I harass innocent squirrels. I hog the couch. I lick myself in the presence of company. I'm no saint, okay?The One and Only Bob is a sequel to Katherine Applegate's One and Only Ivan. Is it a sequel or more of a companion novel? Definitely a sequel. The novel opens with Bob living with his new family (George, Sara, Julia), and Ivan (the gorilla) and Ruby (the elephant) in their new homes at the local zoo. There are flashbacks--of sorts--to their time living together at the mall (as well as other flashbacks). The One and Only Bob has enough action for ten books. (I jest, mostly). You could argue that The One and Only Ivan was a character-driven, contemplative/reflective story with tons of heart. The One and Only Bob doesn't lack any in the character department. It doesn't. (There are new characters introduced too). And it certainly has HEART. (It is all the feels all at once.) But the action is INTENSE. Now take what you're imagining and magnify by about five. For 98% of this one expect to have your stomach in knots and an ache in your heart. So a storm is coming...and it's a BIG storm. It will catch all the characters--especially the animals, but also the humans--a bit unprepared. I really LOVED this one. It is a love in a different way. It complements One and Only Ivan. It does. But the intensity of the action is something that I could NEVER have handled in a million years as a kid. Bravo to those who can read it without becoming a total wreck. And the ending is 1000% worth it. It is a GREAT book. But oh the journey for these characters!!!!!

[heatherlinc · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Time has passed since "The One and Only Ivan" and Bob is now a pampered pooch. While this book was okay, I thought it lacked the charm and heart that the first book had. For one thing, Bob was too opinionated and all the talk about dogs at the start was frustrating. I felt the author was too preachy and the hurricane event was unnecessarily prolonged.I was so glad when Ivan and Ruby finally made an appearance, they are still my favourite characters but neither of them had a big enough role, in my opinion. After "The One and Only Ivan", this was a disappointing read and an unnecessary sequel.