After reading the first four books in this series more or less in order, it occurred to me that after you read the first book, in which Ivy and Bean meet, there really is no need to read the rest of the books in order. The girls are second graders in all the books, and each book describes a stand-alone incident spanning no more than a few days. So, even though I haven't read all the books through Book 7 yet, I picked up Book 8 because it was available at the library. I don't think I'm missing out by reading the books out of order.
As usual, my concerns about this book boil down to the fact that the girls engage in inappropriate behavior (all in fun), but they don't suffer any consequences for their bad decisions.
I like that the girls were willing to do some work to earn money. With a suggestion from Bean's father, they decided to sell subscriptions to a neighborhood newsletter. Unfortunately, I was quickly disappointed when they tried to weasel out of actually writing the newsletter - after already having collected the money!
Bean's father gets them back on track, but in order for them to collect "news" for their newsletter, they basically trespass and spy on people in their own homes. They completely violate the privacy of others, and when the neighbors see the newsletter, adults and children come to Bean's house to complain.
Yes, I can see the humor in the resulting newsletter, but I would have preferred having a satisfying moral ending along with the funny outcome. The girls weren't acting maliciously, so maybe punishment wasn't necessary, but they still should have had to apologize to the neighbors for spying, making up stories, exaggerating, and violating their privacy. They didn't, and there was no lesson learned, no remorse. Instead, they actually got rewarded with more money.
Like other books in this series, this one also includes name-calling.
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