Ivy + Bean Break the Fossil Record

Author: Annie Barrows

Illustrator: Sophie Blackall

Publisher: Chronicle Books

Publication Year: 2007

Lexile: 600L (This book is not in the Lexile Book Database. I used the Lexile Analyzer to get this value.)

Most of the readers will be: Early elementary school girls.

Reader's Advisory: For a chapter book series about boys who are friends, try Jon Scieszka's Time Warp Trio books.

Summary:
When Bean gets board with the cat book she has picked out for Drop Everything and Read, Ms. Aruba-Tate lends her The Amazing Book of World Records. By recess, Bean has the whole class looking over her shoulder at the strange things people have done. Bean and several of her classmates go home that day intending to break records from the book. Bean tries for most straws stuffed in her mouth and breaking glass with her voice before Ivy talks her into looking for dinosaur bones in the back yard. They actually find bones, and declare themselves the youngest paleontologists. Their classmates do not believe Ivy and Bean have dug up a dinosaur so the girls invite them over for an exhibition. Right before their gusts arrive, Bean's older sister Nancy tells the girls that those are bones a dog buried and not a dinosaur. Bean's father and Ivy salvage the day as Bean thinks of new records to break.

My favorite passage:

"Hey!" said Bean.
Ivy looked at her.
"I've got a great idea!" said Bean. This is going to be easy. "I'm good at screaming, and I'm good at breaking things, right?"
"I guess so."
"I'll break a glass by screaming," said Bean. "I'll be the youngest person ever to do it."
"What? You scream and throw a glass?" Ivy looked confused. "You already did that with a plate."
"No - the scream breaks the glass. This lady in the book did it.She screamed so loud that a wine glass shattered. But she was old. I could probably scream louder because I'm young. I'll be a record breaker."
"That's a good record," said Ivy. "That'll be fun." She bounced a little on Bean's bed.
"Okay," said Bean, "I'll need a wine glass. I'll go get it." She jumped up. And then she sat down again. Her dad was still sweeping up little pieces of plate. He probably wouldn't be very happy to find out that she was planning to break something else. Maybe she could find something made of glass upstairs where he wouldn't need to know about it. Not a mirror. That was bad luck. But there had to be something she could use. "I've got it!" she yelled.
"Got what?"
"Nancy's glass animals. I'll shatter one of them. It'll be even better than a wine glass."
"Won't Nancy get mad?"
Bean pictured Nancy's face and then quickly put it out of her mind. "No. She has gazillions of them, and besides, I'll glue the animal back together when I'm done. She won't even notice." I hope, she added silently. (pg 44-47)

What I really think:
I am indebted to one of our young patrons for introducing me to Ivy and Bean. Children often ask for chapter book series and the ones with which I am most familiar are more appealing to boys. So now, I have a series to recommend to girls!

Ivy and Bean are a wonderful example of a healthy friendship. Although they are very different, each girl supports the other and respects her interests. Ivy tries to help Bean break records even when her attempts are messy and will probably get them in trouble. And Bean agrees to help Ivy dig up dinosaur bones like Ivy's idle, Mary Anning.

I think the way that Ms. Aruba-Tate deals with Bean's lack of interest in reading is also noteworthy. It can be difficult to get kids to enjoy reading, but she knows that all it takes is the right book. This is a good message to parents that kids don't have to read story books all the time. Some children are more interested in reading non-fiction books, like a book of world records. And why not encourage them to do so? They can learn fun facts and read at the same time!

The Middle of Somewhere

Author: J. B. Cheaney

Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf

Publication Year: 2007

Lexile: 1030L (This book is not in the Lexile Book Database. I used the Lexile Analyzer to get this value.)

Most of the readers will be: Late elementary and early middle school girls.

Reader's Advisory: Veronica reminded me of Lucky from The Higher Power of Lucky, by Susan Patron, the 2007 Newberry winner.

Summary:
Veronica Sparks's summer begins inauspiciously when her hyperactive brother lets a squirrel into the house and during the ensuing chaos, their mother breaks her knee. When Ronnie's grandfather happens to stop by for a visit in his brand new camper van, her mother suggests he take Ronnie and Gee (the brother) with him for a week as he travels across Kansas wind prospecting. Gee doesn't behave much better on this trip than he did at home. He causes many near disasters before finally stowing away in the trailer owned by his idle, Cannonball Paul. Family, friends, and strangers come together to look for Gee, and Veronica learns about the things in life that are truly important.

My favorite passage:

But Leo was a lot more than his latest special thing. That dog, I realized, was the only living creature on this earth who could take Gee exactly as he was, without getting frustrated or sending him to the principal's office or lecturing him about thinking before acting.
I turned back to Pop. "How about we play cards for the dog?"
That startled him out of his stubborn expression." How's that?"
I took a deep breath, making up the deal as it came to me. "Suppose we play a hand of...five-card draw. No, three hands. Best two out of three. If I win, we keep the dog. If you win, we try to find him a good home with somebody else."
"That's the spirit!" our neighbor exclaimed. "I like it. Whaddaya say, Jack?"
Mrs. Mac spoke almost too soft to hear. "Give it a chance, Jack."
He tightened up his lips, but his eyes shifted to Gee, then back to me. After a few seconds, he untightened enough to say, "Okay."
The audience cheered. Seriously.

What I really think:
I love Ronnie's voice. This is a story that needs to be told in first person, and quite skillfully is. Ronnie's attachment to Kent Clark's Seize the Way is something many middle schoolers could relate to. Young people in this age group are often looking for guidance and rules to follow, and these don't always come from a religion. And like other children her age do, Ronnie struggles with the rules she tries to live by, realizing that they don't always work. She also deals with difficult family relationships. She has a younger brother who is so needy, his needs not only overshadow hers, they also take up most of her time. Her grandfather doesn't help her, but actually creates more work for her. Ronnie fears that if Gee annoys Pop too much he will take them back home prematurely, so she actually tries extra hard to keep Gee under control around him. There are certainly many middle schoolers who have demanding younger siblings and/or parental figures they try overly hard to please. I do think this book will speak to the young people who read it.