Review: Ivy and Bean - One Big Happy Family by Annie Barrows

IVY + BEAN

One Big Happy Family

Book 11

by Annie Barrows and

 Sophie Blackall

Chronicle Books

124 pages

ages 6 to 9

Annie Barrows' bestselling chapter book series, Ivy & Bean, is a classroom favorite and has been keeping kids laughing–—and reading—for more than a decade! With more than 5 million copies in print, Ivy & Bean return with a brand-new book for a new generation!

Ivy & Bean are back . . . and they are funnier than ever!

Ivy's worried. She's read a lot of books about only children, so she knows that they are sometimes spoiled rotten. They don't share their toys. They never do any work. They scream and cry when they don't get their way. Spoiler alert! Ivy doesn't have any brothers or sisters. That's why she's worried. How can she keep from getting spoiled? She could give away all her clothes, but she'd probably get in trouble. She could give away all her toys, but she likes her toys. There's really only one solution: she needs a baby sister, on the double! Luckily, Ivy and Bean know just where to get one. 

      

MY TIDBITS

Nonsense explodes as these two girls try to discover the cure to being spoiled.

When a girl at school claims that kids who grow up as an only child are spoiled, Ivy fears that she's spoiled too. Since that's something she definitely doesn't want to be, Bean has to help her become unspoiled. But that's not an easy task and will take more than just a few handfuls of pickles and bananas to get those brain juices flowing.

Bean and Ivy are girls with exploding imaginations and giant hearts, and to say it rolls into a mountain of goofiness is an understatement. They come up with the wildest ideas, guaranteeing giggles, raised eyebrows and plenty of astounded expressions from the reader the whole way through. Mix this with good intent, and they are a duo to love...even if they are bordering on crazy.

None of their antics shove past reality, which makes it even quirkier. And they never get into trouble in this book. Not really. But considering all of this is for a good cause...because even Ivy's fear at being spoiled shows how wonderful a girl she really is...it's a book to simply bring smiles. Add the oodles of illustrations with the fun activities at the end of the book, and this one is a real winner even for less enthusiastic readers.


And here they are...

Annie Barrows is a bestselling author of books for both children and adults, including the YA novel Nothing, and the bestselling novel The Guernsey Literary and Potatoe Peel Pie Society. She lives in Northern California with her husband and two daughters.