Ivy and Bean
Ivy and Bean is a children's book series written by American author Annie Barrows, illustrated by Sophie Blackall, and published by Chronicle Books.
Description
In the stories, Ivy (a quiet, intellectual child) and Bean (a rambunctious child) become fast friends despite their differences and their initial reluctance to like each other – "two friends who never meant to like each other", as the tagline for the series goes. They are both 7-year-old girls who live on a cul-de-sac in a suburban environment on Pancake Court, in an unnamed town. In each book they get into considerable mischief, and have wild adventures with the other characters in the neighborhood.
The books feature illustrations, but are not picture books; the reading level is suitable for middle grade school readers. As of 2017, there are ten volumes in the series.
Ivy's family
- Ivy: A quiet 7 year old, Ivy is training to be a witch. She has red hair and is always wearing a pink, purple, or blue headband. Ivy can be described as a girly girl since she is always wearing skirts and dresses. Her favorite color is pink.
- Katrine: Katrine is Ivy's mother is barely shown ever. She's quiet, like Ivy.
Bean's family
- Bean/Bernice Blue: A girl who is mostly different from Ivy. She is very rebellious, rambunctious, and devious. Bean has blackish brown hair and hates wearing any kind of dresses or skirts being a tomboy. She loves the color green.
- Nancy: Bean's sister whom she does not get along with. Nancy is much to Bean's annoyance and does not care about global warming. But in a few books, at the end Nancy and Bean are more friendly to each other.
- Bean's Mother: Bean's mother never had a name. She once gave Nancy 20 dollars for babysitting Bean but then it only turned out to be 16 because Nancy wasn't keeping an eye on Ivy and Bean well and she did not even know that Ivy was there. Bean's mother gets both kids in to trouble a few times throughout the series.
- Bean's Dad Bean's dad is smart. He once gave Bean and Ivy the idea for a newspaper when they wanted to buy Beldaloon cheese in special "all-for-you" serving size.
Ivy And Bean's Classmates
- ZuZu: One of Ivy and Bean's friends from school who loves pink and is obsessed with penguins.
- Emma: Emma is one of Ivy and Bean's friends from school and she loves doing cartwheels.
- Dino: Dino is a boy who attends to Ivy and Bean's class. He usually wears a white T-shirt with a shark on it.
- Sophie S.: Sophie S. is talented and she goes to Ivy and Bean's school.
- Eric: Eric is a tall kid from Ivy and Bean's class. In Book #2 he teased Dusit by saying: “Do sit, Dusit!”
- Sophie W.: Sophie W. is even taller than Eric, being the tallest kid in Ivy and Bean's whole grade! Sophie W. is in Ivy and Bean's class.
- Dusit: Dusit is a smart, intelligent kid who attends Ivy and Bean's school.
Child 1: Stars in the beldaloon cheese book
Books
The books in the series are:
- Ivy and Bean (April 2006)
- Ivy and Bean and the Ghost That Had to Go (October 2006)
- Ivy and Bean Break the Fossil Record (August 2007)
- Ivy and Bean Take Care of the Babysitter (April 2008)
- Ivy and Bean: Bound to Be Bad (October 2008)
- Ivy and Bean: Doomed to Dance (September 2009)
- Ivy and Bean: What's the Big Idea? (September 2010)
- Ivy and Bean: No News Is Good News (October 2011)
- Ivy and Bean: Make the Rules (August 2012)
- Ivy and Bean: Take the Case (August 2013)
Book 11 in the series, Ivy and Bean One Big Happy Family, is listed on Amazon.com for publication on August 28, 2018.