Story: 3 stars. Nice start to a friendship between two young girls.Illustrations: 4 stars. I like Sophie Blackall’s work, which is why I opened this book.=> 3.5 stars.

Eleanor read these books... Dad: Eleanor, how long ago did you first read these books?Eleanor: Um... The first time I read it was when I was in Pre-School. ...Well, I listened to it when I was in Pre-School.Dad: How many years ago was that?Eleanor: Five.*I can't believe it's been five years since Pre-School. I can't believe it's been 5 years since she's first read these books. Crazy.*Dad: Eleanor, do you still like them?Eleanor: Yes. I do still like them.Dad: When was the last time you'd listene...

Cute friendship story about two different little girls learning to appreciate each. I would have liked it better if Bean hadn't been such an obnoxious little brat. I liked Ivy but Bean I wanted to slap. I vastly prefer a child protagonist like Ramona who gets in trouble because of misunderstandings or poor judgment (in ways that are totally natural for a kid her age) rather than being deliberately bad. I had a lot more sympathy for Nancy the older sister and the "mean" neighbor than I did for Be...

I picked up this book because it landed on so many good children's book lists. And while it wasn't a terrible book, it wasn't very good either. The lone redeemable quality of the book was the friendship that developed between Ivy and Bean, when it initially appeared that the two had very little in common. Ivy was the prim and proper book-reader and Bean, the puddle-splashing rabble-rouser.However, it was what the relationship formed around that was troubling. The two become friends when Ivy help...

First books that made me fall in love with reading.I- I can't.Pain, so much of it. Nostalgia is drowning me.How the heck do I still remember everything that happened in this series-My brain has decided to wake up.And go back to sleep.I want to cry.

I was pretty disappointed... I was hopeful that this series would help Juliette break out of her neverending Rainbow Magic obsession. She liked it, but I didn't. I guess I appreciate that the characters are fairly realistic children, and I did love the illustrations. But, an awful lot of unkind language (dumb, stupid, booger-head) and behavior. Not that I want all children's books to be moralistic, but really: I do not really need her looking up to a character who throws a handful of worms at he...

Cute. A day in the life of mischievous and imaginative girls.My tutoring student loved this book - she's in the 4th grade reading about at the 2nd grade level. Good early chapter book - font is large, frequent pictures.

This is my first experience reading about this duo. It might not be the last. The story was cute enough, and I thought the girls' characters were done pretty well.Bean wants to play a joke on her sister, but it backfires and Bean has to hide out for a while until Nancy has cooled off. She ends up roped into a scheme with Ivy, the little girl who lives across the street (and who Bean's mother has been pestering her to go and play with), to cast a witchy spell. As the girls move through the neighb...

I made the mistake of not previewing this book before reading aloud to my kids! Someone recommended it to us, so I didn't hesitate to start reading this book with the cute cover. It starts out innocently about two very different girls who don't think they would like each other and then become good friends. That's about the only good thing about this book. Bean is trouble - she lies, steals & runs away. This book uses "name calling" words that I would rather not add to my children's vocabulary: t...

"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 quickly, 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."This was a cute story and I excited to read it with my students.

I had heard so much about these books from kids. Last year, my son read all that he could get his hands on. My son's friends talk about them because their teacher is reading them to the class. They all say how much they love these books, how funny they are, how much they love when the teacher reads them. We were at the book store and my son wanted me to buy him one, so I did. When his older brother said: What do you want that for? It's a girls' book. My younger son turned around and said: No, it...

This is a great book for children, aged 6,7,8.Ivy and Bean are opposites...or at least Bean (born Bernice) thinks that they are. Until certain circumstances let her get to know Ivy better.The illustrations in this book are great, although sometimes ugly. There is one picture where Bean looks just like a demon, and it gives me the heebie-jeebies. The artist plays up Ivy and Bean's differences by representing them physically: Ivy is taller, with long, red hair. Bean is short and dark with dark, sh...

Bean is seven year old and her mother insists on playing with their neighbor Ivy who is also bean's age. Bean doesn't want to play with her because she thinks that Ivy is nice and nice means boring. Bean is always up to mischief. Then one day Bean ends up going to Ivy's house and slowly they strike up a friendship. This was a terrible read. It has nothing going for it except the girls’ friendship. I don't know how it has such higher ratings and reviews praising it. 1 star

This book was recommended to my niece, nephew, and me by Cheryl in CCNV, and it was a good recommendation! My niece loved this book! I think she identified with the main characters. She understood their friendship and their motivations, and enjoyed the growth of their relationship. She was excited by the story almost immediately, and urged me to read multiple chapters to her in one sitting, which is rare.My nephew also listened to the story, and he seemed to enjoy it to a certain extent. He seem...

I am very mixed about this. It is a great starting point for beginning readers because of the illustrations on every other page, but it is definitely not a book I want to read to my daughter. Like with Junie B. Jones, I don't like reading out loud about girls who aspire to make trouble. But as a "see I'm not the only one" find for kids it has a place in comforting kids who feel misunderstood or alone or whatever. I will have to reread some Ramona books to see how I feel about those as a grown up...

A cute Juvenile literature. Fun and I should read this with my future daughter. LOL

I read this book to my five-year-old daughter, and we both giggled our way through the entire read. The dialogue and characters were delightful, but more than that, the book had a very good lesson--don't judge people based on appearances and pre-conceived notions. The main character, Bean, doesn't want to befriend her new neighbor, despite her mother's urgings, because she thinks the new gal is "boring" and too girly. By the end of the book, however, Bean and Ivy have become fast friends...