57 pages 1 hour read

Katherine Applegate

The One and Only Family

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2024

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Part 1, Chapter 29-Part 2, Chapter 56

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1: “The Wait” - Part 2: “The Welcome”

Part 1, Chapter 29 Summary: “Windows”

Much of the zoo is composed of glass windows, which Ivan concludes is mostly for the animals’ safety, as “humans, unfortunately for them, are a tad, well, fragrant” (54).

Part 1, Chapter 30 Summary: “Giant Eyeballs”

The giant eyeballs are cameras that the zoo puts up so that humans can watch the animals on their computers. Bob asks when the baby is coming, figuring it can’t be long since it only takes dogs about 60 days. Since it takes gorillas eight and a half months, Ivan sighs and says, “[Y]ou really don’t want to know” (58).

Part 1, Chapter 31 Summary: “The Bald Spot”

Kinyani returns from a vet appointment with a bald spot on her stomach. The humans shaved it, gave her a bunch of yogurt raisons for being good, and then poked her with a silver thing. Afterward, the humans celebrated and held up two fingers. Ivan and Kinyani don’t know what that was about. Ivan says, “[A]t least you got some yogurt raisins out of the deal” (60).