The One and Only Bob by Katherine Applegate

You may remember Bob from The One and Only Ivan. Ivan, a shopping centre gorilla had two main friends in the first installment - Bob, a small dog, and Stella, an elephant. Later another small elephant comes to join them - Ruby.  Ivan, Stella and Ruby are held captive in this shopping mall and used for the 'entertainment' of visiting shoppers. Bob, on the other hand, is free. Early in his life Bob was abandoned so he has huge trust issues and opinions about humans.

"Name's Bob.
I'm a mutt of uncertain heritage. Definitely some Chihuahua, with a smidgen of papillon on my father's side. 
You're probably thinking I'm some wimpy lap dog. ... But size ain't everything.
It's swagger. Attitude. You gotta have the moves."

At the end of The One and Only Ivan, Ivan and Ruby and the other shopping mall animal circus performers are taken to a zoo. The zoo is a place of safety and companionship. Bob goes to live with their friend Julia.

"Me I lucked out. My girl, Julia, whose dad had worked at the mall, decided her family needed a dog. Who was I to argue? Two square meals, my own bed, all the belly rubs I could beg for. What dog in his right mind would say no to that?"

Bob lives near the zoo and Julia is happy to take him to visit Ivan and Ruby. Life seems goodexcept Bob longs to find his big sister Boss. Then a hurricane threatens everything.

If you need more plot details read this review by Ms Yingling - she plans to purchase two copies of The One and Only Bob for her library!  I suggest you should do this too.

I read The One and Only Ivan in 2012 and it affected me deeply. Kirkus used the perfect word to describe this book - bittersweet. Later another book about Ivan was published which covered the true life story of Ivan (see below).  Now we have The One and Only Bob. These books are a perfect pair but I am glad I took the time to re-read The One and Only Ivan (take a look at this publisher trailer) in conjunction with this new title.

Listen to an audio sample from page 8 onwards.

The novel’s fluid meshing of loyalty, forgiveness, and trust will leave readers hoping that the author has more one-and-only stories to tell. Publisher’s Weekly

With this companion, Applegate picks up where her Newbery Medal winner left off, and fans will be overjoyed to ride along in the head or lovable, self-deprecating Bob on his storm-tossed adventure. His wry doggy observations and attitude are pitch perfect … Kirkus Star review

Look for this book in the Non Fiction section of your library [599.884]

I adore the writing of Katherine Applegate. I have mentioned before I think EVERY LIBRARY (School and Public) should have a copy of Wishtree. I also think every library needs these two books - The One and Only Ivan and The One and Only Bob. Katherine Applegate is also the author of the Endling series which I also adored.