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.

Module 4 – Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key by: Jack Gantos

PLOT:  Joey Pigza is a young boy who is telling the story from his point of view.  He has a condition called Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) although the book never really diagnosis him.  He claims he was wired wrong.  He has uncontrollable outburst of energy and because of this he is constantly getting in trouble.  He sharpened his finger with a pencil sharpener, he swallows his house key, and when he eats sugar he really goes off on the deep end.  The special education department at his school is trying to work with him and his problems but they are not very successful.  Joey really gets in trouble when he accidently cuts off the tip of Maria’s nose in class.  Even though it was a true accident he is sent to a special education school where doctors begin to work with him and try and diagnose and monitor his medicine.  He is also taught that he should not make impulsive decisions and that he needs to think before he reacts.  With the help of his doctor, his counselor and new medication he begins a journey as a new Joey Pigza. After several weeks of treatment he returns back to his regular school and shows the teachers that he can sit still and that he can follow rules. 

Gantos, J. (1998). Joey Pigza swallowed the key. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

IMPRESSION OF THE BOOK:  Oh my gosh this book was funny.  Being a teacher I honestly can say I came across a few Joey Pigzas in my teaching career. How I wish I would have read this book years ago so that I would be able to understand those kiddos.  Joey is truly a great loving child but he just can’t control himself and that is what makes this book so funny.  The author did an amazing job in creating this character and all the deep thoughts this child has.  There were several parts to this book that I just couldn’t stop laughing even though they were really bad situations. I really enjoyed the part where Joey was about to eat “Shoofly Pie” at the Amish town and he falls to his knees to do research about the kinds of shoes the Amish wear.  He honestly thought the pie was made with shoes and flies.  The other part that was right down funny is how he cuts off Maria’s nose but he tries to apologize the next day and he runs into the father.  The reading was so vivid and my imagination just kept going. I really enjoyed this book. 

REVIEWS:  Kirkus Reviews (1998)

If Rotten Ralph were a boy instead of a cat, he might be Joey, the hyperactive hero of Gantos's new book, except that Joey is never bad on purpose. In the first-person narration, it quickly becomes clear that he can't help himself; he's so wound up that he not only practically bounces off walls, he literally swallows his house key (which he wears on a string around his neck and which he pulls back up, complete with souvenirs of the food he just ate). Gantos's straightforward view of what it's like to be Joey is so honest it hurts. Joey has been abandoned by his alcoholic father and, for a time, by his mother (who also drinks); his grandmother, just as hyperactive as he is, abuses Joey while he's in her care. One mishap after another leads Joey first from his regular classroom to special education classes and then to a special education school. With medication, counseling, and positive reinforcement, Joey calms down. Despite a lighthearted title and jacket painting, the story is simultaneously comic and horrific; Gantos takes readers right inside a human whirlwind where the ride is bumpy and often frightening, especially for Joey. But a river of compassion for the characters runs through the pages, not only for Joey but for his overextended mom and his usually patient, always worried (if only for their safety) teachers. Mature readers will find this harsh tale softened by unusual empathy and leavened by genuinely funny events.

Kirkus Review. (1998). [Review of the book Joey Pigza swallowed the key, by Jack Gantos]. Kirkus Reviews Issue. Retrieved July 1, 2013, from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/jack-gantos/joey-pigza-swallowed-the-key/.

USE IN THE LIBRARY:  This would be a great book to do a book circle for elementary or middle school students. Some of the activities with in the book circle could be discussing the different quotes that stand out, the theme, the characters and the plot.  An extension of this could be making question strips for each student in the book circle and have them pick one and discuss.  Some of the questions could be: Do you know a Joey Pigza? Have you ever felt like a Joey Pigza? Is there something wrong with Joey? How do teachers try to help Joey?  Another extension to this could be discussing actions and consequences. This could help students thing twice before  they react.