Ivy and Bean and the Ghost that Had to Go (Ivy & Bean, Book 2)

These girls are hilarious and adorable. The Ivy and Bean books are easy reads for children. The plot is direct and easy to follow. I can't wait to read the next one!

Barrows, Annie & Sophie Blackall (2006). Ivy and Bean and the Ghost that had to Go. San Francisco: Chronicle Books.

Ivy and Bean and the Ghost that Had to Go is the second book in the Ivy and Bean series. In this book, Ivy and Bean decide that the restroom at their school is haunted by a ghost. All

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of the other students find out about the ghost and then the teachers find out, which is not good for Ivy or Bean. They decide to make a secret potion to try and rid the bathroom of the ghost, but they make sure to have fun the entire time.

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This book was very adventurous and I liked it. I like Ivy's character the most. I think it is a great book for best friends to read together.

unresolved conflict, unclear values. What starts out as a foray into a healthy book on unlikely friendship ends up with lots of unwanted baggage. The "ghost" situation is resolved through deviance and a seance. I'm not picking up these books again.

A great read that tells of the adventures of silly girls that just want to have fun and learn all they can. Is part of a series, and could get students pulled into more reading.

In the second book of the series, we join the unlikely pair of best friends, Ivy and Bean, as they explore the ghost in the second grader’s bathroom. The friends must rely on each other during this adventure to get out of trouble and solve their mystery. The combination of Ivy’s rule following

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attitude and Bean’s aptitude to color outside the lines will attract a wide variety of readers, especially young girls. The narrative is told in twelve short chapters. The text and language is appropriate for an independent reader transitioning from easy readers to chapter books. Most pages incorporate black and white drawn illustrations that depict moments from the text occurring on that page. Some illustrations depict singular moments in the narrative while others are humorous interpretations of the emotional responses of different characters. The characters in the narrative are in second grade which will attract younger readers while allowing older readers to enjoy the humor and depictions of second grader tendencies. This book is recommended as an additional purchase in a public of school library as an addition to a transitional chapter book collection. (Ages 7-10)

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Ivy and Bean are very likable and easy to relate to, even for adults. Annie Barrows writes in a uniquely mature yet child-like voice which draws the reader in while making them laugh! This early reader with delight even more advanced readers.

I think I have fallen out of like for these books. The first one caught my attention and seemed better then this 2nd book. No huge complaints. I just feel there is better material out there for read aloud with my little girl.

Not the funniest of the Ivy & Bean outings, at least to me, but still better than most series pitched at this age group!

Again, my daughter liked this, but I was so-so toward it. Lots of ghosts, graves, and dead talk. A little darker than the others we have read. But she likes them, so this is just my opinion.

Hopefully the real second graders reading this are a bit brighter than the ones in the book, but experience begs to differ. It's a cute story, if not infuriating. While it's obvious the kids were rubbing their hands because they had just washed them (and not because they'd just passed through the

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chill of a ghost), we never learn what the puff of air was - I really doubt you'd be getting *steam* from a second grade bathroom.

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Not the funniest of the Ivy & Bean outings, at least to me, but still better than most series pitched at this age group!

In another installment of the cute Ivy and Bean series, the girls are up to another adventure that is fueled by child-like imagination. This time, the girls are convinced that a ghost is haunting the bathroom at their school. Actually, Ivy is the one doing the convincing. Too afraid to admit in

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front of the other kids that she can't do a cartwheel, she makes up the story about the ghost. However, as Bean and others report the cloudy form and moaning voice that must belong to the ghost, Ivy even manages to convince herself that the ghost must be real. When the rumors take on a real force and cause disturbances in the classroom, Ivy gets in trouble for being the cause of the stories. Ivy and Bean then only have one option: the must expel the ghost! With their powerful imaginations and creativity, they decide to make a magic potion that will banish ghosts, and try their hand at a blood oath (don't worry, they're both too squeamish for real blood, they substitute with spitting, instead).

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