Where are you going? It sounds like you're leaving forever," said Ivy's mom. More cucumbers fell off her face.

This is a cute children’s story characterized by humor, vibrant colors, and an intriguing storyline. The girls’ characters are done so well, and you cannot help but marvel at their creativity. Bean is the wild and restless one, while Ivy has an overactive mind. The girls easily build their worlds and enjoy getting their hands dirty like other children their age. Their silly pranks will land them in trouble but leave you with a smile on your face. The illustrations are well distributed throughout the book and add a lot to the story. You will love interacting with Bean with her wild nature and all the mischief. Ivy is also such a joy with her big dreams and all kinds of imaginations. Ivy begs Matt to put Blister down. He doesn't. Then Ivy makes an impassioned plea, and promises to be his friend forever if he puts the rat down. Surprisingly, he does, but only to rip the headband off Ivy's head and throw it in the street. Bean stared. "Why would being good make birds land on your fingers and wolves do whatever you just said?" It's Career Day at Emerson Elementary School, and all the students have to choose what they want to be when they grow up. No problem. Ivy and Bean already have that all figured out. At least, they thought so, until they met Herman the Treasure Hunter. Now everyone in the second grade is looking for treasure—and finding it. Everyone except Ivy and Bean, that is. They need to get out their shovels and turn up some treasure on the double! One of the big problems of being a kid is that your parents often try to make you play with people you don’t really like. My parents were forever trying to get me to like the kids of their friends. These kids were often weird. I didn’t want to play with them. It was a problem.This story starts out with Bean, your typical tomboy who is very satisfied to have fun. Her mother tries to get her to be friends with Ivy, who to Bean seems to be your typical Goodie-Two-Shoes and thus dismisses her. One day however while attempting to play a prank on her older sister Bean finds out that perhaps Ivy is far more mischief-filled than she had first thought. The reader is then taken on a wild neighborhood adventure with a humorous conclusion. A long time ago a member of the Trotsdale community requested me to read and review the first book of Ivy & Bean. I recently finally was able to get my hands on a copy, and would certainly like to read this in the library. Bean already knows she wants to be an arborist since they get to climb trees while Ivy wants to be a witch. Unfortunately, neither of these are represented at the fair. However, there is Herman, the Treasure Hunter, who entrances everybody in second grade. Soon everybody hunts for hidden treasure with some success, except for Ivy and Bean who hurry to get their shovels and improvise. Ivy's arms were trembling. She must have been holding them up for a while. "Are you sure about this?" asked Bean. Ivy and Bean approach Crummy Matt on their mission to "infect people with good." He's standing in front of a bunch of kids, holding his pet rat, Blister, by the tail. It's very cruel, and this part makes me anxious.

It is amazing how the girls tell the ghost story. The mark on the floor is said to be the portal through which the ghost enters from the underworld. A mist sometimes occurs right outside the bathroom, and the girls manage to convince their friends that this is the ghost. The fact that the bathroom gets very cold at times makes their story even more believable. When the teacher scolds Ivy for the ghost story, the imaginative girl comes up with another plan. She is going to make some portions and offer gifts that are sure to make the ghost disappear. A good number of the girls in school show up for the event, but the gathering attracts the fifth-grade teacher’s attention. This only spells more trouble for this duo. I found out about it yesterday. If you're super-good and pure of heart, animals think you're one of them and they love you and follow you around." UNIVERSAL THEMES: The perennial theme of friendship, strong characters and mischievous antics make the books great for both boys and girls. As in the last book (4), I felt that this installment showed nice progression (better than books 1,2, and 3). The book starts out in one place (Bean feeling bad about being a "bad girl"), going to a totally different place (Ivy and Bean's plan to be good and pure of heart), turning into Bean acting horrid on purpose so that Ivy can reform her, and ending in a totally different place that I won't spoil for you. It's very satisfying to read a chapter books for little kids that actually goes somewhere instead of having chapters that just divide up the same long idea. This book and book 4 allows the reader to go on an actual journey, just like in a book aimed at older audiences. I really appreciate this, and I think parents will too - especially if their child still likes being read out loud to. Ivy and Bean is a cute story that many children will find intriguing. In the story, you get to meet two seven-year-old girls who are as different as day and night and see how their daily lives look like. At the heart of the story is an important lesson, there is more to friendship than being the same. If you give people a chance, you will realize that they are a better company than you had assumed. Incredibly, a beautiful friendship is born out of these two girls’ interactions. While there is some mischief involved, it is also notable that the girls get appropriate punishment for their actions.Ivy and Bean make a plan to be so good and pure of heart that birds will come to them. They are starting with birds and not wolves because birds are stupider. They think nice thoughts about everyone - even Crummy Matt who lives down the street and tells kids that chocolate milk is brown because there is poop in it. Ivy and Bean go searching for treasure in Book 12 of the New York Times bestselling early chapter book series! Once again, Ivy and Bean try very hard to be good. But it isn't working. Then Ivy has a wonderful idea. What if Bean was bad? Very, very bad? Then Ivy, the good and pure of heart, could reform Bean. Surely that would be good enough to get all the little animals to love them. Are you looking your next feel-good friendship book series? Are you six years old (or older)? Do you LOVE adventure? Then let us introduce you to the dynamic (and ultra naughty) duo, Ivy and Bean! When this "good thoughts" thing doesn't work, they decide to stop reform something bad, namely Crummy Matt, and therefore they would be doing something very good. Bean says that "that would mean we were so good that we could infect other people with our goodness."