Ivy + Bean

Author:Annie Barrows
Lexile measure: 510
Language:  frequent name calling--"stupid", "boring"
Violence:  none
Big Kid Mature Topics: one of the main characters spends a long time pretending to be a witch, one main character acts a lie (pretends she is sick) to get another character out of trouble
Illustrations: frequent shaded drawings
Plot:    moderately complex.


This book is about being open minded about friendships and not judging a person based on superficialities.  I like that.  However, I couldn't get around all the name calling and the pretending to be a witch (not even a nice one, a witch who has blood on her face) stuff.   With Annie and Snowball, Mr. Putter and Tabby, Ruby Lu, and Judy Moody in this reading range, there are plenty of entertaining alternatives that don't share the edginess of this selection.  My daughter didn't see this one.