Ivan is a Silverback gorilla. Except he is highly intelligent, and sees the world from a unique perspective. He is somewhat ignorant, but then again, so are humans. Ivan is happy with his life. Of course he misses living in the wild, and living in a home, but he loves his cage in his mall. He has three great friends by his side. Bob the stray dog. Stella the wise elephant. And Ruby. The human who likes art as much as Ivan. Yes that's right, The One and Only Ivan is an artist. He loves to draw and paint. But one day, everything changes when Stella here's a baby elephant crying out for her mother. Stella knows that the baby is on her way to the mall. Ivan doesn't believe her, but Stella tells him to be patient. Sure enough, the next day, and adorable baby elephant named Ruby arrives at the mall. She is scared, and a nervous wreck. But Stella decides to be her guide and assure her that she will be okay. (Which ironically isn't true.) Ruby goes from a nervous wreck to a happy, curious, and excited little elephant that draws more crowds to the mall. Ivan knows that Stella is in great pain, and Ruby notes that Stella can no longer stand due to her foot that keeps getting infected since it never seems to have had healed since Stella's days in the circus. One night, Stella askes Ivan to make a promise to her. A promise that Ivan will make sure that Ruby gets a better life than she has. A promise that will help Ruby. Stella askes Ivan this because she knows that she will not be alive to see morning. Sure enough, by morning, Stella is gone. Ivan doesn't think that he should fulfill the promise, and it's not a big deal until he sees the way Mack treats her with the claw stick, and yells at Ruby. Ivan hatches a plan to get Ruby to a safe place. A zoo. Some parts will make you cry, but this is a powerful story for all ages.