Ivy and Bean take care of the babysitter

Gr 2-3-Ivy and Bean, "BFFs," are back in a new adventure. Bean is upset when her parents decide that Nancy, her 11-year-old sister, will be her babysitter for the afternoon, so she flags down Ivy with a T-shirt with SOS on it from her bedroom window. Together they find a way to get into the attic without Nancy finding out, but get locked in. All ends well with Ivy and Bean blackmailing Nancy to keep quiet about her trying their mother's makeup. Bean is a typical little sister with a big imagination. The story line and antics of the characters resemble Sara Pennypacker's "Clementine" series (Hyperion). The frequent black-and-white Chinese ink illustrations capture the mood and carefree attitude of the story well. Early chapter-book readers will enjoy this installment in this lighthearted series.-Krista Tokarz, Cuyahoga County Public Library, OH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(Primary) In their fourth book, friends Ivy and Bean make the best of a bad situation when Bean's parents leave her in the care of her eleven-year-old sister. Bean is livid, but Nancy (who's getting paid twenty dollars) is all smiles. The story involves forbidden territory: the attic crawl space (Bean and Ivy) and Mom's makeup (Nancy); by the end, Bean and Ivy have swindled some money out of Nancy, who declares that "from now on, I'm only babysitting kids who can't talk." Fast-moving short chapters overflow with depictions of how kids really play, use their imaginations, and talk. In one scene of complete kid-bliss, the neighborhood gang transforms a giant pile of dirt, a hose, and some Indian corn into a spewing volcano angry at the gods: Bean "was crawling through the burning lava to bring life-giving corn to the hungry townspeople." When her mother calls her home, she announces, "That's my corn. And it was my idea. You guys should stop till I come back"; when they refuse, she storms home in typical seven-year-old fury. Text and illustrations in this entry are as fine a match as Ivy and Bean, each offering different strengths that support each other infinitely well. From HORN BOOK, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

The kids of Pancake Court are constructing a volcano from a giant mound of dirt, but right in the middle of the eruption Bean is called home. Her parents are going out and leaving her in the custody of her older sister, Nancy. The prospect of boring home confinement with her bossy nemesis as babysitter is grim, but Bean is equal to the challenge. When Ivy shows up, the girls find that exploring Bean's mysterious attic and evading Nancy are just as exciting as making a volcano erupt. This fourth adventure of the pint-size duo with supersize imaginations is the strongest to date. Barrows and Blackall--who, like Eleanor Estes and Louis Slobodkin, make an inspired writer-artist team--have made the denizens of Pancake Court as delightful to visit as the Moffat family of Cranbury, Conn. Portrayed with clear-eyed affection and humor, Ivy and Bean are irresistible. Readers will look forward to the next installment of this series that celebrates the joys and thrills of friendship, unrestricted play and unfettered imagination. (Fiction. 6-10) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Gr 2–3— Ivy and Bean, "BFFs," are back in a new adventure. Bean is upset when her parents decide that Nancy, her 11-year-old sister, will be her babysitter for the afternoon, so she flags down Ivy with a T-shirt with SOS on it from her bedroom window. Together they find a way to get into the attic without Nancy finding out, but get locked in. All ends well with Ivy and Bean blackmailing Nancy to keep quiet about her trying their mother's makeup. Bean is a typical little sister with a big imagination. The story line and antics of the characters resemble Sara Pennypacker's "Clementine" series (Hyperion). The frequent black-and-white Chinese ink illustrations capture the mood and carefree attitude of the story well. Early chapter-book readers will enjoy this installment in this lighthearted series.—Krista Tokarz, Cuyahoga County Public Library, OH