Ivy and Bean

Ivy & BeanWritten By: Annie Barrows
Illustrated By: Sophie Blackall

Meet Ivy and Bean, two friends who never meant to like each other.
The moment they saw each other, Bean and Ivy knew they would never be friends. But when Bean plays a trick on her sister and has to hide – quick! – Ivy comes to the rescue with her wand, some face paint, and a bucket of worms. Will they end up in trouble? Maybe. Will they have fun? Of course!

Summary is from the book cover, provided by Chronicle Books.

Whenever Ivy and Bean get together, there is no telling what can happen! One thing’s for sure though, they will get through it together. These two characters couldn’t be more opposite, but that just makes their adventures all the more exciting, and after they are thrown together, and have the opportunity to get to get to know each other, they learn what true friendship is all about!

Discussion/Project Ideas:

1. Having lots of friends can be overrated. At the end of the day, it can be nice to just have one friend who understands maybe a little of what it takes you to make it through a day being a kid. It takes meeting a lot of people sometimes before you find one that matches you, and lots of times kids are older before it happens. Write about a friend you have, or hope to have someday, that will be there at the end of your days to come. Remember to write about the whole person – nobody’s perfect. Tell everything you can about them, including the not-so-fabulous parts!

2. Bean’s sister Nancy drives her crazy – most of the time. In the end, Bean opens her mind to the possibility that there may be more to Nancy than she has realized. In every battle there are two sides to the story, so I want you to pick someone that you feel you are usually at odds with and write a letter to them telling how you feel and asking how they feel about it. The most important thing in the letter is to be objective – don’t just complain, give examples!

3. This one is a challenge. Pick a character, such as Clementine, and pretend that it is your job to introduce him/her to Ivy and Bean. Would they be friends? Would they be enemies? Write a scene where you are introducing them, focusing on the emotions of each of the characters. Make the reader feel what the characters are feeling!

Leave a Reply