Ivy + Bean (#1) by Annie Barrows

★★★

I like this book better than Book 2 (which I read first), but I'm still not crazy about this series.

When it comes right down to it, Bean and Ivy and even Nancy all strike me as more bratty than endearing. Ivy and Bean clearly know the difference between right and wrong, yet they continually make bad decisions. In this book, we have rudeness, stealing, trespassing, lying, name-calling... All sorts of behavior that I try very hard to teach Isabelle as being unacceptable. At least in this book - unlike in Book 2 of the series - the girls do get caught, and Bean is punished. Unfortunately, neither girl actually shows any remorse, or learns from the experience, and instead, their attitude is more along the lines of, "That was kind of funny. What should we do next?!"

On the plus side, I do like the "don't judge a book by its cover" message. I liked, too, that when they first start hanging out, Bean was actually polite and kind to Ivy. The book mentions that Bean is nice to younger kids in the neighborhood, and those little tidbits do make her more appealing to me.

I also like that at one point, there is a short-lived moment during which we see that Bean and Nancy are not really mortal enemies - they can sometimes actually be quite sisterly towards each other. Alas, the moment is fleeting, and in a flash we are faced with three bratty girls again.

Incidentally, I'll mention that this book has kind of a Halloween-y feel to it. Ivy plays the part of a witch, and there is talk about spells and potions (involving a dead frog) and blood.

All in all, if I had my druthers, I would not have introduced this series to Isabelle. Book 2 was a gift, and after reading it, Isabelle was hooked. When she saw that I got Book 1 from the library, she was so excited, she sat herself down and read the whole thing in one sitting - just like she did for Book 2. I have to admit that Ivy and Bean definitely appeal to her first-grade sensibilities, and I'm happy to see her reading independently. I'll continue to borrow the rest of the series from the library, but I plan to read each book before Isabelle reads it, and, if necessary, remind her that "book life" is very different from "real life" - even though some things are funny and entertaining in book life, we do NOT do them in real life!