Product Description
The moment they saw each other, Bean and Ivy knew they wouldn't be friends. But when Bean plays a joke on her sister, Nancy, and has to hide -- quick -- Ivy comes to the rescue, proving that sometimes the best of friends are people never meant to like each other. Vibrant characters and lots of humor make this a charming -- and addictive -- introduction to Ivy and Bean.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.0 based on 24 reviews)

Good points bad points

I am the mother of a very kind-hearted 7 year old, and adorable, but pain in the butt to her older sister 4 year-old. I bought this book for my 7 year old because it had some sort of illustration on each page (she was very reluctant to move into chapter books, so I thought one with pictures all through would be a good compromise). I totally agree that the message is not the best if you focus on that aspect of the story, but if you have instilled proper values in your children, reading these stories only introduce them into a fantasy land. My daughter, and I'm not kidding about her being kindhearted, she's very sensitive to other people's feelings, but she really enjoyed this book, and has read it twice in 1 week. I say so long as you instill the right manner of behavior in your children, allowing a little mischief won't kill them. Reading is all about imagination anyway. If they ask why she got away with all the bad stuff, you can tell them the truth - it is a fantasy world, it doesn't work that way in hour house. I still think it's a fun transitional book for kids reluctant to move out of picture books.
November 21, 2008

Ivy and Bea

This is a fun book for beginning chapter readers. It is the first in the series.
November 17, 2008

Fun and interesting characters for young readers

I really like these books for young readers (6 - 8ish). My daughter really loves the characters and I think the adventures are interesting. We search for these in the stores, and it's a shame there aren't more. They are hard to find when you need them so personally, I'll probably buy them all on Amazon so that she has them to read.
October 29, 2008

Great Book!

My five year old loves to listen to a few chapters of this book before bed. It is great easy reading about two neighbors who think that they are completely different but end up becoming great friends.
No need to read too much into the plot, just enjoy and have fun!

We also enjoy Jack & Annie books and the American Girls series.
October 21, 2008

Ivy and Bean

Some younger children might have really, really, liked this book. And the question is, why? Really, why is this book so good? If you ask me, it's pretty shallow. Even for a younger children's book. It doesn't build Ivy and Bean's relationship... well, right. It could have been better. The idea was a pretty good one, showing younger children about how people with complete opposite personalities can end up best friends. The book showed Ivy and Bean, the girls with the opposite personalities, slowly bonding. The way they bond is boring and shallow, more boring and shallow than real life. The names of the chapters are "Ivy Hatches a Plan", "Bean Hatches a Plan", "Easy Peasy", etc. They bond by pretending to be witches. Nothing interesting. There is absolutely no action.
After all this complaining, I think you get the idea. This book really isn't so great.

August 14, 2008

SIMILAR PRODUCTS

Ivy and Bean and the Ghost that Had to Go (Ivy & Bean, Book 2)
by Annie Barrows, Sophie Blackall

Ivy & Bean Break the Fossil Record (Ivy & Bean, Book 3)
by Annie Barrows
by Sophie Blackall

Clementine
by Sara Pennypacker
by Marla Frazee

Ivy & Bean Take Care of the Babysitter (Ivy & Bean, Book 4)
by Annie Barrows
by Sophie Blackall

Talented Clementine, The (Clementine)
by Sara Pennypacker
by Marla Frazee