Annie Barrows

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 show more 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. show less

The eponymous Ivy and Bean discover that sometimes appearances can be deceiving in this amusing first entry in Annie Barrows' series of easy chapter-books for the primary school set. Although each is encouraged to play with the other by their respective mothers - who foolishly trot out the old "she seems like such a nice girl" line - they resist, until circumstances intervene, in the form of Bean on the run from the consequences of her latest stunt, and they are thrown together. The show more irrepressible Bean, who has something of a penchant for trouble (especially if it involves teasing her older sister, Nancy), discovers that just because her new neighbor wears a skirt, and has her nose stuck perpetually in a book, doesn't mean that she's boring; while Ivy, intent on becoming a witch - if studying can bring it about, it will happen! - learns that Bean is anything but the sweet paragon held up to her.

I was curious to see what I would make of this story, after reading a friend's negative review, which compared the character of Bean unfavorably with Beverly Cleary's Ramona, so when I found myself stuck in the city the other day with nothing to read, and happened upon a book-sale, I snapped up the first few volumes of the series. All in all, although I came away with some concerns, I wasn't as disturbed as my friend. I like stories about little girls that aren't sweet - think Ramona, Clementine, or Junie B. Jones - as I think that the social pressure on girls and women, to just be nice (all the time! no matter what!) are still very strong. I found Bean an engaging character (I liked Ivy a lot too), and laughed at many of her outrageous escapades. Most importantly, I didn't find her irredeemably bad - she had a conscience, she (sometimes) knew she was doing wrong, even if that didn't stop her - so much as realistically human. Then again, I fought like cats and dogs with my own closest sister (we are sixteen months apart) as a girl, so perhaps I identified with that aspect of the story, even if I agree (and I do!) that Bean's parents are a little too lax.

In sum: I found this an engaging read, one that I think will appeal to young girl readers - particularly the ones that get into scrapes - and I also appreciated the charming artwork by Sophie Blackall. show less

Summer 1938, Macedonia, West Virginia: Layla Beck, the outcast daughter of a senator, comes to Macedonia to write a history of the town for the WPA. She boards with the Romeyn family: siblings Felix, Jottie, Minerva and Mae, and Felix's daughters Willa and Bird. The reader gets three perspectives: Willa narrates in first person, Jottie in close third, Layla through letters to friends and family at home. Capital-H History and personal history are closely entwined in Macedonia: one of the show more major events in recent memory is the fire at American Everlasting, the factory the Romeyns' father owned and ran, and the death of Vause Hamilton, Felix's best friend and Jottie's love.

Both Layla and Willa are on fact-finding missions, and everyone's version of history is different. As Layla takes a historian's approach, interviewing citizens and getting help from the librarian, Willa relies on spying, piecing together puzzling bits of information. Meanwhile, Layla isn't entirely impartial; she begins to fall in love with Felix, and Willa is desperate to stop it.

The truth comes out in the end, and the journey is well-paced and satisfying. One or two romances collapse, while another works out; characters grow and change. This isn't Guernsey, but fans of that book should enjoy this one.

Quotes

It occurred to me that I missed an awful lot of what went on. (Willa, 10)

"That's awful," said Bird again. "I wanted a happy ending."
"It's history," Jottie reminded her. "You don't get what you want." (108)

"Character fascinates me....I suppose circumstance plays its part, too, but I think character, even a nasty one, holds a stronger hand [in history]..." (Layla, letter to Lance, 110)

"Nobody tells anybody anything. You've got to find it all out for yourself." (Willa, 147)

"I think," [Layla] said to Miss Betts, "that if history were defined as only those stories that could be absolutely verified, we'd have no history at all." (183)

"All of us see a story according to our own lights. None of us is capable of objectivity. You must beware your sources." (librarian Caroline Betts to Layla Beck, 185)

And what she owed Felix could only be paid in loyalty. (Jottie, 220)

It wasn't, as Layla had thought at first, that Mrs. Lacey was confused; she was simply indifferent to the triviality of the present. (232)

Sometimes Felix seemed like an empty house, but he wasn't really. It was just that he kept all his possessions in a locked room. And when, once every few years, the door cracked open for a moment, she felt strangely moved to see herself within. (Jottie, 241)

The past was the only thing that really existed; there could be no future that was no based on the past. (Jottie, 278)

"But it's not history yet. It's just a fight. It's not history until someone wins." (Layla to Emmett Romeyn, 297)

It was impossible to know if what I thought was the truth....Things seemed to happen for no reason that I could see....I had always hoped Jottie would call me into her room and tell me the secret, the thing I needed to know to understand why people did the things they did. So far, she hadn't...What I wanted was bigger, a giant blanket that would hold the world. (Willa, 374)

You don't owe anyone your whole life. (Jottie, 381)

"You promised, Jottie. We made a deal."
"Some deal - she does whatever you say and you do whatever you want," said Sol. (Felix and Sol, 398) show less

The title sounds like whimsical girly stuff, and the cover certainly looks like it, but really this novel creates a whole genre of it’s own. Unfolded through letters awash with memorable characters and delicious humour, this is truly a book that warms the cockles of your heart.

I’d not read about Guernsey’s occupation by the Nazis before, so it made for a unique and fascinating backdrop to the novel (the book is set in the post-WWII period). I think the mass appeal of this novel has show more been it’s ability to deftly and subtly cover so many areas - the human impact of war, history, island living, publishing, English literature, love, friendship… it’s all there, yet inter-weaved so cleverly that it all just fits together perfectly.

An easy read, it’s an absolute page-turner - one of those books where you gasp when you get to the last page, despairing that it's finished.

The author Mary Ann Shaffer had tried all her life to write a book but never came up with anything she felt was good enough to be published. She realised that she'd created something special with this novel, but took seriously ill just after the rights to the book were sold and her niece had to finish large sections of rewriting on her behalf. Although she knew that the book would be published in 13 countries, she died before finding out what everyday readers made of it. It's not often an Afterword brings a tear to your eye, but I felt so sad that she'd been cheated out of the rightful glory of basking in her success.

This isn't Literary Fiction, but it's a great read. By the end I promise you’ll be checking out travel brochures to Guernsey and wishing you were part of the ‘Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society’. Definitely the book equivalent of a big, warm hug. show less