Ivy & Bean's Secret Treasure Box (Books 1-3)

It states that these books are for five and up what five year do you know can read a chapter book on their own. I do like the books to read to her but I was looking for something to get her started with reading.

My daughter is 7 and a fairly good reader (2nd grade). I bought here these books for Christmas and she couldn't get enough of them. The series is about two 7 year old girls that are different but become best friends. She could easily read the words in the book which meant it was fun to read but the plot also kept her interest. I see there are a number of more books in this series and I have no doubt we'll be ordering more.

Love these books and so does my 6 year old daughter. Enhances her imagination and gives her an understanding of being a kids is all about. The reader and the child will look forward to reading every time you open a book to hear more about another and Ivy & Bean adventure. Highly recommend and the price for this box set can't be beat. Truly priceless in adding to your child's collection of books.

I gave this set as a gift to my granddaughter. She was simply delighted with the stories and used several of them for her homework reading assignments. Ms. Barrows has written a series of stories that not only delight, but that are also funny and that also great for the young reader.

This was purchased for my 6 year old's birthday, who loves to read and is reading between the first and second grade level. She was thrilled to receive the books and began reading immediately. The secret treasure box was a real hit!

My daughter loves to read and I'm always trying to find new series for her to enjoy. She loves Thea and Geronimo Stilton, the Rainbow Fairies, Magic Tree House and now we've found another one for her to enjoy!

My Grandaughter loves these books and wants me to get the rest of the series for her. She is almost nine and wants to read them all. Once she starts the book she can't put it down until she's finished with it.

I wasn't sure my kindergarten granddaughter would like this type of book, but she telephoned me and said, "Grandma. I LOOOOVE these books." Very seriously. She went on to describe exactly what was so great about them.

I'll be looking for more in this series later on.

I bought these books for my 6 year old daughter who specifically requested "chapter books" for Christmas. I expected her to fall head-over-heels in love with it after reading all of the reviews on here, but she found Monster High instead and lost interest. Every now and then she goes back and looks at the first one again, and deep down I hope she gives it an honest shot, but hey I guess that's the risk you take with 6 year olds!

I babe love this book I'm going to buy her the full set she won't them all her reading improve I love these book great for girl to get them into the love off reading shd love reading now because I found her something she likes love love love these book

The Ivy and Bean books are filled with fantastic adventures and great dialogue. I started this series as a read-aloud with my five year old daughter, and we're both hooked! Hurrah for Annie Barrows for creating such creative kids and capturing their exploits with such humor. We can't wait to read them all.

My daughter has just turned 9 and she needed help with her reading so I decided to purchase these. The books have sight words in them that allows her to expand her vocab. They are chapter books but they also have pictures that keeps her attention.

I bought the book package for my niece and she loved it! I surely got some 'aunt points' with the three books and the extra "surprise journal" inside a book, just as a treasure box! it arrived on time! thank you!!!

My 6 year old loves these books! She read the first one partly on kindle and finished it in a paperback given to her by a friend. When finished with paperback and excited to read the second one, we went back to my kindle but couldn't get book two to come up. It is very confusing so we have stopped reading this series until we can figure it out. it would be better if book two and three were downloaded seperately so you could easily find them.

My six year old girl does not love to read. The only books I could get her excited about were the Junie B. Jones books--but they were awful for my daughter--she started to pick Junie's constant terrible words (hate, stupid, dumb). The Bean & Ivy books are so much better! Ivy and Bean are still crazy enough to make my daughter giggle, but the girls are much more like regular high spirited kids. I think there are about 7 books in the series so far-- we just finished the first 3. My daughter and I both had a fun time reading them together. She also loved the treasure box book that came with the set. I really hope the author will keep writing these great books.

I received a book exchange and the girl I was to choose a book for is 7 (almost 8)... I typed in what I was looking for and this was the first on the list. It seems perfect and I hope she likes it! Thank you!

I got this book from the library and could not believe my ears as I read it to my daughter. The name-calling between the sisters is relentless. Bean refers to nearly everything and everyone as "boring". She goes so far as to say: "Nice is another word for boring."
My daughter, who is 5 and a half, asked me what a "tight wad" was. (Bean calls her sister a tight wad.) I'm so glad I didn't spend money on this. Our daughters deserve a better example. The author chose to represent the lead characters as trite, mean-girl complainers. Our daughters deserve books that include adventures, bravery, emotion and yes, plenty of silliness, which this book has none of.
Here are some direct quotes: "Bean thought about kicking her sister in the shin...but then she got a great idea, one that would teach her sister not to be such a tightwad."
-(Bean says about Ivy's clothes) "What a goony costume. What a dork!"
-Bean says, "I'm the ghost of Mr. Killop. I lived in your house before. I died there. I've come to haunt you. Tonight while you are sleeping, I'll wrap my icy fingers around your neck!"

Unfortunately I could go on and on. If you want a list of better books for girls there are great ones listed at Mighty Girls website: [....]

My 6-year-old daughter received this set as a Christmas gift and she was immediately engrossed in them. Everywhere she went she had her nose in one of these books. I was so impressed with her interest in them that I was poised to write a glowing review.

And THEN. Nightmares, nasty language, name-calling her little brother (whom she ADORES) and finally... overhearing her tell him that she was going to “wrap her icy fingers around his neck”. Took us a while to figure out what was going on. I guess we just didn’t consider that we would have to so diligently screen modern children’s “literature”. Lesson learned. Trashed the books and all is well again.

Save your money. Your girls deserve better examples than this.

I'm an 8 year old girl. I got the Ivy and Bean box set for my 1/2 birthday. It is awesome.
Ivy and Bean are great catchy names. In the "About The Author" section, it says the author has two daughters. They probably have awesome names too.
The stories are hilarious. Read about the adventures of two girls as they play tricks on Bean's older sister, get the bathroom ghost to go, and dig up fossils!
The characters, even the minor ones, are all three- dimensional. The stories have strong, great descriptions on the characters.
The artwork is wonderful. There are 1 or 2 pictures on almost every page, and the illustrator must have been paying great attention to the great stories, because the pictures are the EXACT same as what it says on the page. Here are some examples. Ivy's room has chalk lines separating her bedroom into little rooms. She has a sleeping room, a living room, an art studio, a doll room, and a dressing room/science lab. The picture shows that beautifully. In another one, we see a map of the way from Ivy's backyard to Bean's backyard. Also, the way Ivy and Bean are designed is great. Ivy has long curly blondish red hair with a pretty headband. She likes to wear dresses and skirts. She wears black Mary Janes. Sometimes she wears a black witch robe with sparkly stars and moons, and carries a gold wand with streamers, glitter, and jewels on it. Bean likes to wear a T-shirt and shorts. She has black hair. She usually has bare feet or only socks. They look super cute together.
I love how the two girls have easy-to-remember personalities. Ivy is very quiet and smart and loves books. Bean is lively and active and loves sports. I think I'm more like Ivy and my friend is more like Bean, except we are way better behaved. Ivy and Bean are badly behaved because that's what makes them so fun.
The fourth "book" in this box set, Ivy and Bean and The Secret Hideaway, is a very well designed (it looks like a real book!) treasure box with an adorable Top Secret journal inside. The opening inside is not huge, but big enough that you could maybe put in a few small pencils and/or erasers. I will have so much fun writing in that journal!
If you love cute things and pretty things and mischief and friendship and funny things and yummy things these books are for you!
Wonderful for girls ages 6 and up who love all of the things on the sentence above.

I'm torn on my review of the Ivy + Bean series. IMO, they are boring, simplistic, weird, and crass with a low-brow attempt at humor and absurd plot lines. I worry about my kids' exposure to the protagonists' escapades, which include running away, sassing adults, lying, breaking every rule in any book, and generally wreaking havock everywhere. I have to note that the punctuation, grammar, vocabulary, and mechanics are great, though. As a copy writer, that counts for me, and it pleases me when a kids' chapter book elicits my childrens' curiosity to find out the meaning of a new word or to be captivated by the nuanced inflection of dialogue.

My kids, on the other hand, love this series. They are not avid readers (much to this writer's dismay), so I read aloud to them and the requests for "just one more chapter!" are frequent.

My kids that like this series are 8 and 6, FTR. These books wouldn't be my first choice, but my kids aren't at all interested in the Magic Tree House stuff, or anything else that might might stimulate a higher IQ.

My 6 yo read the first two books in one night. Not that it's an easy read; certainly challenging vocabulary. So must be the storyline... I read them myself to be sure, and it's definitely a refreshing break from the inane fairy/princess/Disney regurgitation that has been driving me nuts. These books are about real kids in real life, acting like real kids; funny, quirky, sometimes naughty, but best of all, imaginative. I read all the negative reviews about the girls being mean and witchcraft and all that, and all I can say is... well, parents have the right to select what they feel is appropriate for their own children. Hey, who am I to tell others how to raise their kids? But I've had enough of the sugarcoated, sappy, unrealistic Disney stories that teach girls to be submissive and let the men in the world control how they should feel. If this book teaches my girl to have a little 'tude, then more power to her. Better that than waiting helplessly for some man to rescue her.

I couldn't give this series one star because it says "i hate it" and since violent communication is something I avoid…I cannot give it one star. In a world where we are constantly bombarded by mean people…do we really need to read about more? These girls are mean and disrespectful and while some may enjoy spirited spars, in my eyes, life will give your kids enough of this. Violent communication and people being mean to each other is the last thing I want to instill in my girls as cute and funny, my girls who are often hurt by how mean kids can be, because we have taught such reverence in our household. My kids are the ones who go sit next to the weird girl that nobody will play with or stick up for someone being bullied. They see injustices and they strike them down. Im not sure this book would further behavior that makes a mother proud. Let's support more books with loving values and respect for our friends and family. The world has enough snotty mouths.

My 7yr. old daughters received this as a present and within the first few pages I was ready to put it down. Words like dumb, booger head, boring, tightwad are all used within the first chapters. And worst of all their used by the main character and child Bean. When Bean's Mother encourages her to play with their neighbor she calls her boring and states I told you I just don't want to. What does the mother do, she dismisses this behavior and says have it your way. All of these words and this interaction made it clear that I could not have my nice and sweet girls read this. I'm surprised by all the positive ratings. Have they all read the book? Even if the characters decide to change their ways the language alone is not one I want my daughters to mimic.

My first grader and I have been enjoying this series for the past couple of months, and so a boxed set of the first few numbers seems as good a place as any to review the series, more or less, as a whole.

The Ivy and Bean books are, simply, a gas. Two mischievious little girls of great energy and curiosity, they approach the world in a way that reflects their understanding of it, complete with misunderstandings. Best friends of the opposites attract school, they compliment one another nicely and make hay out of every situation the world puts them into. While adults do pop up on the periphery, much like Peanuts, they are generally simply white noise in the girls' lives. (Bean's big sister Nancy being a greater, humorously annoying presence.) Mostly their world consists of the school yard, the backyard and their adventures in making their own lives exciting.

The prose is kid-friendly both in reading level and kid-language. Ivy and Bean talk and think like bright, clever second-graders and as such, my duaghter relates while giggling at their mis-adventures. And as the Dad, I find them a treat for all of those reasons, as well as the terrific pacing.

Highly recommended to anyone in the market who isn't disturbed by little kids acting and thinking like little kids (see the one-star reviews here). Looking forward to the next one, and so is my daughter. (Note - please forgive misspelling here - spell check not working and, well, I spell much like a second-grader myself.)

If Book One had been our intro to the series, we likely would have not read further. Bean's inappropriate choices and negativity are most prevalent here, sparking an appropriate-behavior discussion, although we still enjoyed the story and the lesson that people aren't always as they seem. Luckily, Doomed to Dance was our intro to Ivy and Bean. Both my 9-year-old son (who usually sticks to older books) and 6-year-old daughter (who reads but usually rejects chapter books) found themselves giggling and entranced. Then we moved on to the Ghost (Book 2) and Fossil (no idea which book) Ivy and Bean books for further giggles, and my kids were hooked.

7 year old says-
"I like them a lot and they have easy words, and then stick in some hard words for you along the way. They are really interesting and they really stick with the idea from the beginning. And its interesting because in the first one they don't even like each other. They have trick you can do on your sister or brother! But they would mostly work on your sister."
Mom says-
If it were just up to me I'd give this a 4 star. I thought it was entertaining, but in true mom fashion I don't like all the words like "ugly, stupid, jerk..." The stories are hilarious, but Ivy & Bean do a lot of horrible things. (tossing worms on their sister, playing with food coloring in their bedroom, cutting their sister's hair while she's sleeping...) I'd say get this for your kid, they will laugh out loud reading it, but they do need to get the reminder, that it is funny because it is so inappropriate.

My friend bought the box set for my 5yo because it had the "secret treasure box" with it and she thought that was cool. I've been reading the books and tried to give my daughter the benefit of the doubt that she would just enjoy the adventures and not learn bad behavior, but almost immediately after finishing the first book she did something mean to her little sister. I asked her why and she said because she thought it would be funny like what Bean did to Nancy.

Maybe these books are for older kids (the main characters are in 2nd grade) but I can't imagine the absolute hate-filled interactions between Bean and her older sister Nancy would be a good idea for any kid to "enjoy."

My 7 yr old is a good reader, but has no love for reading unfortunately. We have been on a search for books that she would find engaging enough to pick up on her own. Ivy and Bean hit the spot. What a terrific series! The books are well written, humorous, and fun to read. As a side note, although I don't have an issue with my daughter reading Junie B Jones (it did not appeal to my daughter), I enjoyed the fact that Ivy and Bean speak correct english. The story line is relatively simple but has fun twist and turns. And it sparked her imagination enough that she spent hours afterwards, creating a book of her own! My daughter could relate to the characters and loved the book so much that she asked us to head to the library and borrow as many of the Ivy and Beans as we could find! I call that a total success! Being a good reader is terrific, but loving to read is so much more important to me, so I'm thrilled. In regards to previous negative comments, yes, Ivy does dress up as a witch and the girls play a trick on Bean's older sister, but the whole thing is quite innocent and totally speaks to a first grader's sense of humor. Great book!

My daughter read the first book at school and asked me to borrow the other books from the library to read during Summer.
I confess I did not read the books assuming they would be OK. My daughter starter acting up and having a horrible attitude including a very demeaning and unloving attitude towards her sister...behavior I had never seen in her before. My husband read one of the books with her one night and realized that what she had been doing was so much like Ivy and Bean. I can't put all the blame on a book for my daughter's behavior but it sure raised red flags for us.
I agree with other reviewers who said this is not the kind of behavior we endorse and want our girl exposed to. We have since had a good talk to her and removed all Ivy and Bean books from the house.

Bean likes to play with other kids in the neighborhood, no matter older or younger. She loves to have fun! Bean also likes to play tricks on her older sister, who's at that age that she sees Bean as nothing more than a brat. Her mother suggests she meet and play with the young girl across the street - Ivy. But Bean is not willing to be friends with Ivy, so always seems to be quiet and reading and wearing dresses than going out and having fun.

Ivy's mother wishes Ivy would go out and have fun with the neighborhood kids than spending all the time by herself. She suggests she meet and play with the young girl across the street - Bean. But Ivy is not willing to be friends with such a loud, obnoxious girl.

One day, Ivy is sitting outside, reading, when Bean decides to hide in a bush and play a trick on her older sister. Seeing Ivy dressed in her robe, and holding a stick, she thinks maybe she can play a trick on Ivy as well, and begins to pretend to be a ghost. However, her trick on her sister backfires, and as she runs to find a place to hide, not wanting to get in trouble with her mom, Ivy invites her into her backyard to hide.
A fun adventure for two girls how had no intentions of being friends! Parents will want to laugh right along with their kids! Although both Ivy and Bean never wanted to be friends, they bonded and banded together quickly, and both enjoyed conjuring up a plan to get back at Bean's sister. My daughter (7) loved the part of Ivy becoming a witch. My son (6) absolutely loved the worms, and both hooted when Bean's sister fell into the hole they dug. While both of my children know they'd never get away with a stunt like that, they thought the story was funny and loved how the girls became friends.

And neither can wait to read book #2!

My daughter (and son) love the Ivy and Bean series, and I love reading them out loud. Sometimes we're laughing so hard that I have to re-read an entire page due to excessive snorting! Ivy and Bean are characters that kids relate to, and their imaginations make the stories compelling. Reading these serve as a great reminder to all of us parents that kids think differently than we do...they are coming from a different perspective. And boy do kids love that Bean is not perfect. Bean will remind you of Ramona in that she's always flirting (or courting) trouble, and the scrapes she gets into make her a whole lot of fun. Bean's relationship with her sister Nancy is antagonistic, but also realistic...and provides a few talking points for how to get along.

To those parents who object to words like "dork" etc...I would make this point: Bean is a good kid at heart. She chafes at all the rule following expected of her, and occasionally uses words you might not condone, like "dork". But this is also why kids recognize themselves and their peers in her. So while I wouldn't recommend reading them to a 5 year old, first graders on up will love them.

I must say I was surprised when my daughter opened this set of books and we found the "secret book"! I guess I didn't read the description very carefully! But the bigger surprise is what a delight these books are. My daughter is really getting involved in the characters and the story which is less common with newer children's books. The author has put diligent effort into creating characters with depth here. We are really enjoying these books and will look forward to buying all the Ivy & Bean books in the near future. And in case you missed it, the "secret book" is GREAT!!! :)

Funny, interesting books that really help kids make the transition into chapter books. My 9 year old daughter was pretty resistant to reading chapter books until she read the first Ivy & Bean book on my Kindle Fire. After that, she asked for the next one as a real book. She was shocked to find out it was a chapter book and delighted and proud to discover she could read on them on her own.

Is it great literature? No, but I don't think it's any less valuable because it's a series that helps kids find out that reading can be fun. Pretty much the same way I enjoyed the "Ramona the Pest" series when I was a kid.

I purchased this set for my 5 year old daughter who loves to read. I thought it would be a great first chapter book set but I was wrong. The first book starts out with two sisters who don’t get along. It talks about death in the first two books. The books just have an overall bad vibe. I wouldn’t recommend them for younger readers at all.

This was a delightful book! Bean is a rowdy, active, wild child, while Ivy is thoughtful, imaginative and gentle. I adored the contrast! I enjoyed how the two meet, the adventure that ensued and their friendship. I laughed out loud at least twice - always a good thing. I highly recommend this book for the 5-7 crowd.

My 7 year old really likes the books but I personally felt that Bean was very mean. We discussed that Ivy is the one to emulate. The treasure box is a cute addition. Overall, you have to discuss the book with your child & appropriate behavior. It's a grown-up version of Junie b jones - the same snotty behavior. 6-9 years

So happy with these books. Almost single-handedly, they turned my 2nd grader into someone who fought reading time for the past 2 years, to an independent chapter book lover. She loves how relatable the girls in the story are, and how fun their adventures are.

My mom got these for me to read to my five-year-old as our first chapter books. We read 70 pages of the first book before she let me stop. Her three-year-old sister also paid attention for most of the time. The books have black and white images on most pages which help little ones stay involved in the stories.

Ivy and Bean remind me of the "Ramona" books by Beverly Cleary although Annie Barrow manages to create the same effect with very simple, easy to read language. Ivy and Bean seem like real kids who get into all kinds of adventures. Unlike the Magic Treehouse series or the Rainbow/Weather/Holiday Fairy books which all seem to follow almost exactly the same plot, Ivy and Bean seem fresh. My daughter loves them and I find them appealing as well.

One of the things I really appreciate about the series is that they are perfect for a reader who is done with beginning to read books- but is still having a harder time with chapter books. The Fairy books had words that were too challenging, Junie B Jones and Judy Moody have a fair bit of slang that my daughter had a hard time understanding, and other books were just too difficult.

Some people have commented on the language, thoughts and/or behaviour of Bean. To me, it feels very normal- I think most kids- and adults- complain about being bored- or feel really angry about a sibling. Bean- and Ivy's- challenges make them seem like believable characters.

Highly recommended for the 6-9 age range.

My niece instantly fell in love with this series of books. Ivy & Bean the Secret Treasure Box is a box set of the first 3 books as well as an additional gift!!!

As an adult, I, myself, found myself drawn to this box set. Containing the books: Ivy and Bean (book 1), Ivy, Bean and the Ghost that Had to Go (book 2) and Ivy and Bean Break the Fossil Record (book 3).

We are introduced to two wonderful and adorable little girls - Ivy and Bean. Neither have very many friends and are urged by their mothers to "go play together" - neither are particularly enthusiastic as they do not seem to share anything in common. Yet, as soon as they get together they realize that they are fast becominng BFF (as my niece puts it!!!).

What follows are 3 absolutely adorable books! The storyline in each is cute and quite unique. They are also quite educational (although I don't use this word around my niece) and surprisingly - the storylines are funny - and not corny. The illustrations are extremely well-done.

I thought this book was very well priced (around $17.00) as this box set looks very professionally done.

My niece, who is 9, went through all 3 books in record time asking me when the next one in the series would be out. BUT, her most favorite part of the box set was definitely the "gift" that came with it - a wonderful "diary" or "journal" which is perfect!!! I mean - I remember how excited I was to have my first diary when I was 10!! - It held all my precious secrets and my niece has made sure to start writing in it everyday - and to hide the diary so we "grown ups" can't find it!!!!!

This is a great box set and I think would make a great gift for the reader or future readers in the home.

We sent this to our 7-year old granddaughter in Atlanta. On the phone she said she loved the books. She is a pretty good beginning reader and after glancing through the books, it seemed like these books would be somewhat challenging for a new reader, but the stories are so compelling that a beginning reader will want to plow her way through them! As a former school teacher, this was a perfect buy for our granddaughter.

Ivy & Bean is the tale of two best friends. They are full of character, have a wonderful imagination and make you laugh. My daughter loves these books. As a parent, I think they are great! I read to my 8 yr. old every night and Ivy & Bean are one of my favorite stories to read. The books are fast paced, incredibly entertaining and original. You can't go wrong with Ivy & Bean!

I bought the first "Ivy and Bean" book today to read aloud to my four year old granddaughter. I read it myself and certainly wish that I hadn't wasted my money. Why in the world would you want to encourage a little girl to be so mean? I will try to exchange it for another book.

My 7 year old daughter loves these. She hasn't been able to put them down. When I asked her what she thought of the books. Her reply was "They are very exciting!" She has finished the first two books in record time. The illustrations are delightful as well as the stories. A definite yes in our house.

I really liked this book for my daughter - she is at a new school and the friendship between Ivy & Bean helped her feel confident about making new friends. They remind me of the girls in The Adventures of Becktron & Sally Slappers

I read this to my 6 year old grandaughter today and I was busy changing the words while I read because I did not want her to hear the book's "heroine" calling her
sister "Bogger face" as well as other mean spirited and not amusing comments.
It is difficult enough teaching little ones to love and respect others without
having bad attitude and behavior treated as "cool".

Neither of the main characters wanted to meet the other because both thought that the other was "a nice girl" as their Mothers said and they thought nice girls were
boring.

I changed not only some words as I read but also left out some antics such as hoping
a frog will "come in here and die" for their potion.

I am not a stick in the mud, goody two shoes but this was just a bit much...I will not buy another one.

I am a 62 year old grandma who found these books to read to my granddaughter who was 6 at that time. Her 8 year old brother joined us after listening to the first book as we read. Well these books are just wonderful. As far as criticism of when the girls talked about witches, I remember doing this with girlfriends as a youngster. We dressed up and painted our faces and both of us are normal God loving grandmas today. Don't let the naysayers deter you from sharing these wonderful books.

I must agree with many of the other parents who find these books more full of "mean" examples. We also received this as a gift and I can only presume that the mom who bought it had no idea of the nature of these books. Although my daughter enjoys the 'mystery' side of the 1st two books (which we've read thus far) we find ourselves having to have discussions way too often about the BAD behavior & language that Bean exhibits. I mean, cutting your sister's hair while she's sleeping? And then, Bean is dissatisfied that the sister doesn't realize it and thus can't get mad about it?! I'm basically on the store, now, to look for a less 'bullying' alternative to a similar chapter book series.

I bought the first Ivy & Bean book for my daughter this year and she really did not like to read. After reading the first chapter she got really excited about the characters and now we are on book five in the series. This has also become one of our favorite book sets to give as presents for her friends. I highly recommend this series for the accelerated kindergarten reader and for first graders.

I like how it works it was good? I'll say it's for 5-6 ivy and bean think that they found dinosaurs bones And you don't have to do anything special too read it ?I would recommend this to everyone who likes silly stuff like spoons? and likes to winning?and likes to read?

I think that the pages should have been longer. I liked the ending of ivy and bean break the fossil record because they find out that the fossil bones might be dog bones. ??. But it wasn't my favorite book either.???? ??

my daughter loved these books! we read them together and she was so excited to start the next one. these books have taken her from a 2nd grade reading level to a 4th grade reading level in a few months.

My bought these books for me 6 year old and she loves them! She read the first book in 1 1/2 days (mommy made her stop reading to go to kindergarten)! She loves to read anyways but these books are so fun she can't put them down. She has read through the whole box set in a week.

Great story lines for first through third graders. Classic pairing of an athletic girl with her more brainy neighbor. Story traces how two unwilling girls became great friends and their subsequent adventures exaggerated by their imagination.

The idea behind these books is cute. But part way into the first book I had some concerns. The characters say some things that are not very nice. They also talk about casting spells, which I personally don't care for. My daughter is young and impressionable and there are a lot of better options out there.

Ivy and Bean is about two girls who always get in trouble. Ivy and Bean are great friends. Ivy is a girl who loves to act. And Bean, always wants to bug her sister. The problem is they always are bossed around by Bean's sister, Nancy. Ivy and Bean find a way to make Nancy stop bossing them around. This is a story that shows not to be mean to your sister or friend if they boss you around.

I wish I would have read more reviews on this book before buying the series for my Granddaughter! I gave her the first book for Christmas and was shocked to find that it contained talk about two little girls involved in making potions and spells! Are you kidding me? There is nothing in the previews of the books, or on the cover of the book that would lead you to believe that it contained material involving witchcraft...it looks like a sweet little book about two little girls. So I looked through the rest of the books and they each contain more of the same thing. Guess that was money down the drain because my Granddaughter will not be getting the rest of the books and I will be tossing them away.....and purchasing a different series for her. Unfortunately, I have tried to contact the store about it, but it will not let me in to place a complaint! Do NOT buy this book for your little girls.....

Kids are getting meaner and meaner. This book does a good job of showing that. Sign of the times. Either the author is of this generation or trying to popularize this behavior. SAD. Definitely not a classic. The reviewers who rate this high I believe may be more interested in what is "popular" than what is right. Brainwashing techniques for the weak.

So far they have gotten to chapter 3 in books 1 and 2. I like these books with the mystery element. The chapters are small enough to remember what is going in from chapter to chapter. I have my twins write a chapter report, not book report, for every chapter they finish. This way I can see if they are remembering what they read before going on to the next chapter. Too bad books like these could not be written from a Christian perspective for little girls, but I like these books anyway. There were several book series for girls at 6 and up to look at and choose from. My twins liked this series, I think they liked the names of the girls to. I live in NorCal to.

!!!!WAERNING, IF YOU ARE CHRISTIAN PARENT, YOU WILL NOT LIKE THESE BOOKS. THIS IS MY FAULT, BUT I DID NOT READ ANY OF THE BOOK WHEN I BOUGHT THIS BOOK
BECAUSE THERE WAS NOTHING REALLY TO READ ON THE BACK COVERS. IT WAS NOT UNTIL I READ SOME OF THE BOOK HERE ON the store THAT ONE OF THE GIRLS TRIES TO BE A WITCH!! YEAH, AT THAT TIME, I HAD ALREADY BOUGHT 5 BOOKS. SO WE GAVE THEM TO MY TWINS TEACHER AT SCHOOL.!!!

DO NOT BUY THESE BOOKS IF YOU ARE NOT A FAN OF YOUR GIRLS READING A BOOK WHERE ONE WANTS TO BE A WITCH..

I stupidly bought this series for my 11 year old daughter for Christmas and was excited for her to get started reading them. I gave them to her on Christmas Eve she told me later she would read and then set it down because she didn't feel right about them. But then would give it another shot and try again. She thought the books must get better the bad guy doesn't always stay bad sometimes turn back to good and always in a child's book. Book done today and now she comes to me and says "Mom I don't want to read these books", I ask her "why" she tells me "oh, just little things like explaining how to be a witch and what you do being a witch and just being mean". I told her "honey were busy today I am sure its a misunderstanding when we get back home I will look at it. I thankfully did look at it and was Shocked! These two little girls on the inside pages were not the two little girls on the front of the book, where did they go? Reading about how you need to dress as a witch and act like one and learn their spells and potions, was this the fun adventures that had been told about the book? Okay some are into that thing were not. But now being mean to others and in detail of how to be mean. And where do they find the creative ideas for their nastiness? Well there handy dandy Spell book. All book reviews have somewhere when the reviewer says love, I loved this.... Well here's mine "I loved turning the page to see a shelf of potions and many with Satanic Symbols. Wow! I am sitting here tonight feeling that my daughter and myself have been violated by what we thought was sweet, kind and funny who alone in your bedroom evil was waiting and waiting to be read to get into your mind.
A writer to be so full of evil and choosing to unleash it on young, sweet girls is disgusting! My daughter thankfully informed me and told me "I don't feel right about this". Well after reading as much as I could I informed her your okay honey they shouldn't make you feel right or feel that their nice, there not meant too. Okay so the writer got my few bucks for the books and I will burn them as to have one less series out there. Writers can be evil, but evil that tries to hide itself as good well I know it sounds like a lot of religions out there. But this writer to have as her main target as young, sweet and smart girls well that sounds like a lot of child predators out there. I hope Mom's read these reviews and listens to good people out there that do care about their child. The other reviews make me sick reading them. "Its a fun make believe fantasy land for kids" Really? Witchcraft or better known Wicca is not a fantasy land, it's quite real and dangerous! And the other theme of the book (other then witchcraft) is being mean and in other words learn how to bully, why bully? well from the books thought and other reviewers thoughts, it's "great fun". Really? Well if your right and I am wrong then I am truly afraid of where society is going. Maybe when the writer does and will get there she can write us lovely books about all the fun adventures you can have "their". Hey I got one to get you started "Just how deep is that lake"? come on kids let's go check this out.....Oh, wait there are no kids there. Oops this is an adults only place. Mom's wake up save your child's mind and heart from these books. These are not simple make believe fun fantasy books. They are real books and ideas and manners that only the evil hold. Do you really want your child to learn to be a bully? the store do the right thing and stop selling her books. It's the right thing to do. That and sign her name on a list of child predators. "Look little one, a nice, sweet lollipop come with me and I will bring you into a world only your nightmares lay. Stupid Mom's like yours truly says "Go on honey, it's a lollipop how bad could it be? Bad!

Beware that this series seems like "harmless fun", but after you're little one is hooked, BAM! Book 7 hits with it's utter and complete global warming propaganda. Take my advice and stick to Junie B, Ramona and Beezus, or American Girl series. All the fun with no agenda.

My daughter, whose in the 2nd grade, brought this book home from school and it started off as an innocent book, but later in the chapters this book started becoming weirder and weirder. I told her to take it back to school and request a different book.

Thinking the book would be about the friendship of two little girls that are around the same age as mine, I picked it up at a local bookstore for my 7 year old. Half way through the book, the girls begin talking witches, potions and spells. One of the girls paints her face white and adds blood drops.

I suppose in today's world this seems completely normal for children this age to be reading and digesting and contemplating. However, if you desire for your children to read things that are edifying and age appropriate do not purchase this book. The material appears to be innocent at first glance but ends up having dark elements that are inappropriate for children.