Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of The Shopping Mall Gorilla is a very meaningful story written by Katherine Applegate and illustrated by Brian Karas about a gorilla who was captured by poachers. This gorilla was sent to Tacoma, Washington where he grew up in a 14×14 metal cage. He was named Ivan by the audience, and he was sent to Tacoma with another gorilla who was named Burma who died at an early age. The people in Tacoma started to realize how long Ivan had been there, and they held protests to free Ivan, and a child only 11 years old received over 1500 signatures to help free Ivan. Ivan was finally removed from the shopping mall and was sent to Zoo Atlanta, where there were 2 acres of roaming space and it helped Ivan feel like he was back at home. I think that the theme of the book is patience. Ivan had to wait 27 years sitting in a cage doing almost nothing at all. The message of the book is that we should treat animals with respect and kindness, just like how we should treat humans. Just because they’re less smart or they can’t speak doesn’t mean that their lives are any less important than ours. I think that this is a wonderful book with a very powerful message, and it teaches people to treat everyone/everything with respect.