Module 6 - Ivy & Bean

Bean is a wild child always getting in trouble. Ivy is the quiet, girl-next-door. Can these two become friends?

Barrows, A. (2006). Ivy and Bean. Chronicle Books, San Francisco. ISBN: 978-0-8118-4903-6

Impressions: This is a fun book for young readers. There is a map of the neighborhood and Ivy's bedroom which make the story come to life. I liked the conclusion (and moral, if you will) of the story; two very different people can end up being friends if they just learn about each other.

Review:
Amazon.com
Barrow's debut children's book energetically kicks off a series about two seemingly unlikely plas, just right for kids moving on from beginning readers. Bean's mother suggests that she play with Ivy, the new girl across the street, "She seems like such a nice girl." Seven-year-old Bean says she already has plenty of friends ("Nice, Bean knew, is another word for boring"). After all, Ivy's long , curly red hair is neatly pushed back with a sparkly headband, and she always wears dresses and reads books; headband-, dress- and book-shunning tomboy Bean muses that Ivy "had never once in her whold life climbed a tree and fallen out." But when Ivy offers to get Bean out of a jam with her older sister, Nancy, Bean takes Ivy up on it. Bean discovers that the not-so-boring, wand-toting Ivy is in training to become a witch, and working on a spell that keeps its victim dancing for life--which sets Bean thinking about the ideal fate for bossy Nancy. Blackall's (Ruby's Wish) half tone spot art and full-spead illustraions deftly capture the girls' personalities and tale's humor, while also filling out fun details about Ivy's room and the neighbor's backyards. Barrow's narrative brims with sprightly dialogue and tidily ties everything together both Bean and Ivy find a fast friend and set the stage for Ivy and Bean and the Ghost that Had to Go, scheduled for the fall. -Publishers Weekly, starred review
(Link to review)


Suggestions for library or classroom use:
Teaching young children about Sibling relations. Also would be a fun story to read and teach about ways to pretend.