Ivy and Bean Take Care of the Babysitter (Ivy and Bean Series #4)

From the Publisher

THE HORN BOOK Text and illustrations in this entry are as fine a match as Ivy and Bean, each offering different strengths that support each other infinitely well.

KIRKUS REVIEWS, STARRED REVIEW This fourth adventure of the pint-size duo with supersize imaginations is the strongest to date....Portrayed with clear-eyed affection and humor, Ivy and Bean are irresistible. Readers will look forward to the next installment of this series that celebrates the joys and thrills of friendship, unrestricted play and unfettered imagination.

School Library Journal

Gr 2-3

Ivy and Bean, "BFFs," are back in a new adventure. Bean is upset when her parents decide that Nancy, her 11-year-old sister, will be her babysitter for the afternoon, so she flags down Ivy with a T-shirt with SOS on it from her bedroom window. Together they find a way to get into the attic without Nancy finding out, but get locked in. All ends well with Ivy and Bean blackmailing Nancy to keep quiet about her trying their mother's makeup. Bean is a typical little sister with a big imagination. The story line and antics of the characters resemble Sara Pennypacker's "Clementine" series (Hyperion). The frequent black-and-white Chinese ink illustrations capture the mood and carefree attitude of the story well. Early chapter-book readers will enjoy this installment in this lighthearted series.-Krista Tokarz, Cuyahoga County Public Library, OH

Kirkus Reviews

The kids of Pancake Court are constructing a volcano from a giant mound of dirt, but right in the middle of the eruption Bean is called home. Her parents are going out and leaving her in the custody of her older sister, Nancy. The prospect of boring home confinement with her bossy nemesis as babysitter is grim, but Bean is equal to the challenge. When Ivy shows up, the girls find that exploring Bean's mysterious attic and evading Nancy are just as exciting as making a volcano erupt. This fourth adventure of the pint-size duo with supersize imaginations is the strongest to date. Barrows and Blackall-who, like Eleanor Estes and Louis Slobodkin, make an inspired writer-artist team-have made the denizens of Pancake Court as delightful to visit as the Moffat family of Cranbury, Conn. Portrayed with clear-eyed affection and humor, Ivy and Bean are irresistible. Readers will look forward to the next installment of this series that celebrates the joys and thrills of friendship, unrestricted play and unfettered imagination. (Fiction. 6-10)

Children's Literature - Sharon Oliver

In this fourth adventure, best friends Ivy and Bean take on the babysitter, also known as Bean's older sister Nancy. Determined to make some trouble for her sister during her first paid sitting job, Bean enlists Ivy to explore the forbidden attic while Nancy is otherwise occupied. In the midst of making plans to disappear into the attic forever, Bean accidentally closes the trap door and locks them in. Nancy, distracted by playing with her mother's makeup, is slow to come to their rescue. Finally freed from the attic, with mess cleaned up and parents none the wiser, Bean and her sister come to a financial agreement to keep the afternoon's events under wraps. The incredibly appealing Ivy and Bean present another true to life story (with just a bit of extra adventure) that will appeal to young readers. Many will identify with the desire to run away from home (but not too far) and the burden of older siblings. Sure to be a hit with readers of the previous books, this is a great choice for all libraries. Reviewer: Sharon Oliver