Ivy & Bean and the Ghost That Had to Go (2006)

Best friends Ivy and Bean return in this second chapter-book adventure from author Annie Barrows and illustrator Sophie Blackall, this time confronting the ghost that is haunting Emerson School. Attempting to distract her classmates from her lack of cartwheeling skills one lunchtime, Ivy draws their attention to the misty white cloud to be seen - if looked at in just the right way, with just the right extended gaze - hovering at the entrance to the girls' bathroom. The second grade's excitement, at the discovery of this paranormal occurrence in their school, soon leads to trouble however, as their teacher, Ms. Aruba-Tate, insists that there be no more talk of ghosts. Clearly, the girls decide, the only option is to expel the spook, using a special potion and ceremony dreamt up by Ivy...

Like its predecessor, Ivy + Bean, with its "spell" to make Nancy dance, here we have an ambiguous story in which a magical occurrence might (if one really squints sideways at the story) be real, or might (as seems more likely) be the result of two very imaginative girls, and their play. Here we also have, like the first, an engaging story and charming artwork that work together to perfectly capture the distinctive personalities of each girl, from the seemingly shy Ivy, who is really an unconventional little dreamer, to the boisterous Bean, who really likes to please people. I enjoyed Ivy + Bean and the Ghost That Had to Go, particularly as I thought it was a little less mean-spirited that the first - no worm-throwing here, thankfully! - and think it is a worthy sequel. Recommended to any young chapter-book reader who enjoyed the first Ivy and Bean book. ( )

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. ( )

Cute story ( )

1850

This is a wonderful series for Second and Third grade girls. Ivy and Bean are unlikely friends who team up to solve school based problems. The characters are believable and engaging. The plot is easy to follow and the each sentence finishes at the bottom of the page to help young readers follow the text more easily. Clear illustrations on every page provide lots of context clues for emerging readers. The chapters are broken down into short manageable amounts.