Module 4 – Ivy + Bean by: Annie Barrows

PLOT:  Bean is the wild and goofy girl while Ivy is quite and mysterious one.  Opposites attract in this book. Bean who can’t sit still is off making adventures and getting into trouble while Ivy is studying to become a witch.  Bean and Ivy live across from each other and their moms are constantly trying to get the girls to play and become friends.  Bean whose job is to annoy her big sister and vice versa big sister Nancy is trying to be the boss of Bean really create a quarrel throughout the book. One day Mom and the two sisters, Nancy and Bean, go shopping.  Bean hates shopping and continually harasses Nancy while she is trying on outfits.  Nancy purposely was taking her time shopping and trying on outfits to annoy Bean. So, Bean decides to gain some vengeance for Nancy’s behavior.  Bean tries to trick Nancy as she is walking home the next day but her plan goes sour and Ivy gets to see this disaster because she is sitting on her front porch.  As Bean is running away Ivey helps her out so she can hide from her big sister.  They begin to talk and a friendship begins to bloom. Bean and Ivy decide they are going to place a dancing spell on Nancy and one of the main ingredients to the spell is worms. So off they go on their adventure to look for worms and place a spell on Nancy.   Their plan gets them in trouble but in the end they realize that they like each other and they want to be friends.  

Barrows, A. (2006). Ivy + Bean. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books LLC.

IMPRESSION OF THE BOOK:  This was a very cute book.  It takes you back in time to remind you of when you first met your childhood friends.  This is a great read for young girls that don’t want to take chances in making friends. It’s great proof that not everyone is weird.  I really like this book because opposites truly attract and this friendship has a great balance.  Both young ladies were very creative in their own ways. One of the parts in the book that shows the creativity of each young lady is when they are trying to sneak past all the back yards and they end up in Mrs. Trantz backyard.  Bean is trying to explain that the reason they are crossing her back yard is because there is an emergency.  Then Ivy, out of nowhere, beings to gag and pretends that she wants to throw up, Bean then goes along with the throwing up scene and Mrs. Trantz fall for it and sends them on their way.  Another part that I liked is the part where they threw the worms on Nancy and the chase began.  Then, Nancy actually does dance around in the mud and she falls, technically she’s trying to prevent a fall, but Ivy thinks it’s because of the spell. This is a great read and I recommend it with thumbs up.

REVIEWS:  Kirkus Reviews (2006)

A charismatic duo makes their debut in this new chapter-book series. Barrows provides a fresh take on the standard odd-couple tale of friendship, with a caveat to readers of not judging a book by its cover-or the new girl by her seemingly goody image. Bean, an energetic girl with an inclination for mischief, just doesn't see the appeal of her new neighbor Ivy, whom her mother extols as such a "nice girl," which Bean readily translates to mean dull. However, when she needs to escape the wrath of her bossy sister Nancy, Bean discovers a whole new dimension to the quiet girl next door. Together Ivy and Bean concoct a plan to cast Ivy's fledgling dancing spell on Nancy, with unexpected and hilarious results. With a hearty helping of younger sibling angst, a sprinkling of spells and potions and a dash of nosy neighbors, Barrows has the perfect recipe for solidifying a newfound friendship. Blackall's saucy illustrations detailing the girls' hijinks and their calamitous outcomes are liberally featured throughout the text. Readers are bound to embrace this spunky twosome and eagerly anticipate their continuing tales of mischief and mayhem. (Fiction. 6-10)

Kirkus Review. (2006). [Review of the book Ivy + Bean, by Annie Barrows]. Kirkus Reviews Issue. Retrieved July 3, 2013, from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/annie-barrows/ivy-bean/.

USE IN THE LIBRARY: This book could be used as a character trait identifier.  The book could be assigned to be read either during library time or class time and then return back to the library for a character trait lesson. A Venn diagram can be used to identify the different traits for each girl and then place all the traits they share in the middle.   Then students can create their own Venn diagrams with themselves and a friend.