Ivy and Bean (Book 2): Ivy and Bean and the Ghost That Had to Go

By Annie Barrows and Sophie Blackall

Best friends Ivy and Bean are back and looking for adventure in the second installment of this engaging new series. This time they've made an amazing discovery—a ghost in the school bathroom! Ivy and Bean can see its cloudy form and its glowing eyes. They can hear its moaning voice. This is the best thing that ever happened at school—until the teachers find out. Now Ivy and Bean have to figure out how to get the ghost out of the bathroom. Will they succeed? Maybe. Will they have fun? Of course!

Includes bonus material!
- Sneak peek chapter from the next book in the Ivy + Bean series Ivy and Bean Break the Fossil Record by Annie Barrows, illustrated by Sophie Blackall

• Language: English
• Publisher: Chronicle Books Digital
• Release date: Jul 1, 2010
• ISBN: 9780811876520

Annie Barrows

Annie Barrows is the bestselling author of books for both children and adults, including the New York Times bestselling Ivy + Bean series, The Best of Iggy series, the YA novel Nothing, and the adult bestselling novel The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. She lives in Northern California.

Book preview

122

THE GYMNASTICS CLUB

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten—wham! Bean crashed into the grass.

Ouch, said Ivy, peeking through a hole in her sandwich. Doesn’t that hurt?

No. I’m just dizzy, said Bean. She sat up, and the playground began to tilt. Ugh. She lay down again.

Now Emma stood up. She lifted her hands above her head, took a big breath, and began. She did nine good cartwheels before she fell on her head.

Are you all right? Ivy asked Emma with her mouth full of peanut butter.

Sort of, said Emma.

Now it was Zuzu’s turn. Zuzu was the best cartwheeler in the Gymnastics Club. She was also the best backbender. She could do seven round-offs in a row. Nobody else could do even one.

Zuzu pulled down her ruffled pink shirt and raised her hands. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve cartwheels, and still Zuzu landed on her feet. Then she arched over backward. She flung her arms over her head and made a perfect backbend. She looked like a turned-over pink teacup. Then she rose back up—boing—like a doll with elastic in its legs.

Wow, said Ivy.

Bean jumped up. She just had to do twelve cartwheels.

Stand back! she yelled.

Wait, said Zuzu. What about Ivy? Aren’t you going to do a cartwheel, Ivy?

I’m guarding the jackets, said Ivy.

But Ivy, this is the Gymnastics Club, said Zuzu. You can’t just guard jackets.

Why not? Ivy wondered.

We’ll teach you how to do it if you don’t know, said Emma.

She knows, said Bean. She can do a cartwheel. I’ve seen her.

Ivy looked at Bean in surprise. Why was she saying that? Ivy had never done a cartwheel in her life. Slowly, Ivy put her sandwich down next to Emma’s jacket. There’s just one little problem— she began.

Hey, Leo! yelled Bean suddenly. You’d better watch out! If I get hit with that ball, there’s going to be trouble!

Leo was the leader of the soccer kids at Emerson School. Before there was a Gymnastics Club, the soccer kids had the whole field to themselves during lunch recess. When Bean and Emma and Zuzu and Ivy started the Gymnastics Club, they kept getting hit with soccer balls. One day, Bean got clobbered in the stomach, and she declared war on the soccer kids. She came to school with a bag of ripe plums and chased Leo down. When she caught him, she sat on him and rubbed plums into his hair. Rose the Yard Duty had been really mad. She told Leo and Bean that they had to work it out, or she would kick them all off the field.

So Bean and Leo worked it out. The Gymnastics Club was supposed to have all

Reviews for Ivy and Bean (Book 2)

[stahl2ricco · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Again, my daughter liked this, but I was so-so toward it. Lots of ghosts, graves, and dead talk. A little darker than the others we have read. But she likes them, so this is just my opinion.

[tribex_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

unresolved conflict, unclear values. What starts out as a foray into a healthy book on unlikely friendship ends up with lots of unwanted baggage. The "ghost" situation is resolved through deviance and a seance. I'm not picking up these books again.

[benuathanasia · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Hopefully the real second graders reading this are a bit brighter than the ones in the book, but experience begs to differ. It's a cute story, if not infuriating. While it's obvious the kids were rubbing their hands because they had just washed them (and not because they'd just passed through the chill of a ghost), we never learn what the puff of air was - I really doubt you'd be getting *steam* from a second grade bathroom.

[alyssakimpisarski · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

In the second book of the series, we join the unlikely pair of best friends, Ivy and Bean, as they explore the ghost in the second grader’s bathroom. The friends must rely on each other during this adventure to get out of trouble and solve their mystery. The combination of Ivy’s rule following attitude and Bean’s aptitude to color outside the lines will attract a wide variety of readers, especially young girls. The narrative is told in twelve short chapters. The text and language is appropriate for an independent reader transitioning from easy readers to chapter books. Most pages incorporate black and white drawn illustrations that depict moments from the text occurring on that page. Some illustrations depict singular moments in the narrative while others are humorous interpretations of the emotional responses of different characters. The characters in the narrative are in second grade which will attract younger readers while allowing older readers to enjoy the humor and depictions of second grader tendencies. This book is recommended as an additional purchase in a public of school library as an addition to a transitional chapter book collection. (Ages 7-10)

[mariekagreene · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Ivy and Bean are very likable and easy to relate to, even for adults. Annie Barrows writes in a uniquely mature yet child-like voice which draws the reader in while making them laugh! This early reader with delight even more advanced readers.

[dms02 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I think I have fallen out of like for these books. The first one caught my attention and seemed better then this 2nd book. No huge complaints. I just feel there is better material out there for read aloud with my little girl.

[abigailadams26 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

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.

[bekaht_4 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

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.

[hellokitty201 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book was very adventurous and I liked it. I like Ivy's character the most. I think it is a great book for best friends to read together.

[cnolasco_40 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Barrows, Annie & Sophie Blackall (2006). Ivy and Bean and the Ghost that had to Go. San Francisco: Chronicle Books.Ivy and Bean and the Ghost that Had to Go is the second book in the Ivy and Bean series. In this book, Ivy and Bean decide that the restroom at their school is haunted by a ghost. All of the other students find out about the ghost and then the teachers find out, which is not good for Ivy or Bean. They decide to make a secret potion to try and rid the bathroom of the ghost, but they make sure to have fun the entire time.

[bellalibrarian · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

These girls are hilarious and adorable. The Ivy and Bean books are easy reads for children. The plot is direct and easy to follow. I can't wait to read the next one!

[David Linam · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Ivy and bean are the best ever, we read the stories over and over with my daughter!!!

[Kat Rowekamp · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book was a good book. It was a great adventure that Ivy and Bean ( Zuzu and Leo too!) Went on 8\10

[adaq-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Not the funniest of the Ivy & Bean outings, at least to me, but still better than most series pitched at this age group!