Ivy & Bean Break the Fossil Record (2007)

When her classroom teacher, Ms. Aruba-Tate, gives her a copy of The Amazing Book of World Records during a "Drop Everything and Read" session, second-grader Bean, together with her best friend Ivy, is soon involved in an effort to become a world record holder in... something. Attempting to hold hundreds of straws in her mouth, or to break a glass figurine (pilfered from her older sister Nancy's collection) by singing brings little success, however, so Bean, influenced by Ivy's current obsession with Mary Anning, sets her sights on becoming the world's youngest paleontologist. Finding some old bones buried in the back yard, the two friends become convinced that they have unearthed a dinosaur, and spread the news far and wide...

I really enjoyed this third entry in author Annie Barrows and illustrator Sophie Blackall's series of chapter-books devoted to the (mis)adventures of best friends Ivy and Bean. Once again the text and artwork captured the very different personalities of the two girls, while delivering an engaging story that was humorous, and sometimes quite thought-provoking. There's this lovely little scene, about halfway through, when Ivy and Bean are discussing being right, and whether or not it matters if others know you are right:

"I want other people to know I'm right. Especially when I really am right."
Ivy thought for a moment. "But you're still right, even if they don't think so."
"I guess." Bean sighed. "I just feel better if other people think I'm right too."
"Hardly anybody ever thinks I'm right," said Ivy.
Bean nodded. That was true. A lot of people didn't understand Ivy's ideas. She had had plenty of practice at not being believed. That's probably why she didn't get as mad about it as Bean did. She just went ahead with her ides anyway. You can do whatever you want if you don't care what people think, Bean realized. But you have to do it alone a lot of the time.

Quite a little philosophical interlude to work in to a beginning chapter-book - especially one that operates as a humorous story, at the surface level! I was also quite charmed by Ivy's Mary Anning obsession here, since we recently read a children's biography of Anning, for The Picture-Book Clubto which I belong. Good to know that young readers will learn who she was, through this entertaining story. Finally, given the fact that Bean can be somewhat mean-spirited, I really appreciated the fact that she admits (mostly), in a scene toward to the end of the book, that she is wrong: Bean sucked in her breath. She knew what she had to say. "You were right and we were wrong," she said. "Probably."

All in all, a worthy addition to the Ivy and Bean series, one I would recommend to any chapter-book reader who enjoyed the first two. ( )

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Bean wants to be someone famous, and she has decided to do this by making a record to go in the Amazing Book of World Records. But what record should she break? Someone already called dibs on hanging spoons on their face, someone else took eating the M&M’s. It wasn’t until Ivy told Bean about her book on Mary Anning, the youngest paleontologist, that it finally hit. They were going to start digging for dinosaur bones!

Join Ivy and Bean in their latest adventure with this fun, comedic read. Pencil drawings join the large text on these pages to make it a quick read despite initial impressions on its size. Bean is a very engaging and quirky character, and her relationship with Ivy is a very sweet showing of friendship. Highly recommend for young girls who enjoy quirky comedies. ( )

This is a delightful easy chapter book about two very good friends Ivy and Bean. They are in second grade. Their teacher shares a book about breaking records so the girls get the idea to break their own record. After lots of stops and starts they decide to dig for dinosaur bones become the youngest paleontologists. They start digging in Bean’s backyard and find bones! What a surprise. They can’t wait to tell their class and then do a show and tell in their backyard. But what happens when they realize that the bones they find don’t belong to a dinosaur? This is a funny and engaging read that will be enjoyable for students who want to start chapter books. ( )

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