August 14, 2012

Ivy & Bean Blog-a-Bration! +GIVEAWAY


As you know here on The O.W.L. I highlight books at all ranges of middle school readers (and in my middle school that's grades 5-8), because of this I was super excited to be asked to participate in the countdown to International Ivy & Bean Day on October 13th!

The next 8 weeks are going to be fun!!!!

Each week I'll be highlighting a different Ivy & Bean book plus hosting a giveaway! Then on week 9 - all the previous winners will get a chance at a super awesome prize!

Before I get into all those details I want to first talk about this week's book:


Ivy & Bean

The moment they saw each other, Bean and Ivy knew they wouldn't be friends. But when Bean plays a joke on her sister, Nancy, and has to hide quickly, Ivy comes to the rescue, proving that sometimes the best of friends are people never meant to like each other. Vibrant characters and lots of humor make this a charming and addictive introduction to Ivy and Bean.


Yes this would be the book that started it all.  I have to admit I had never read one of these books.  They looked cute and adorable, but I had just never read one.  So glad I finally sat down and did

MY THOUGHTS
What an adorable and fun little book! When I think back to my daughter and reading when she was younger, she would've loved these books.  I can completely see why little girls love them.  

Both Ivy and Bean are fantastic little characters.  Full of cuteness and spunk that would capture the love of little girls, but not so much so that an adult reading the book aloud would find them annoying.  I always find that to be a careful balance.  

I just loved how Bean didn't want to play with Ivy right away because she saw her as boring.  When yours as active as Bean I could see that being a very big concern! And then their plan to play a trick on Bean's sisters is the best! I have a 5 year old, and I can see him coming up with something like this as he gets older!

Over-all a most adorable book.  Oh I do want to mention the illustrations! They were great.  I know at the age of the reader illustrations really help with the reading.  But they were fun for me too.  Detailed but not so much to make it seem like a picture book.  They really helped me visualize the action better.

If you've never read an Ivy & Bean book I suggest you give one a try.  You'll giggle and fall in love with two very cute girls!

To learn more about Ivy & Bean check out the websites below.
Annie Barrow's site
Chronicle Books Site

And check out what other bloggers participating are doing!


Media Darlings                                  http://www.mdarlings.com/
There's A Book                                  http://www.theresabook.com
Kid Lit Frenzy                                     www.kidlitfrenzy.com
In the Pages                                       http://inthepages.blogspot.com
The O.W.L.                                          http://owlforya.blogspot.com
Coquette Maman                            http://www.coquettemaman.com
Ruth Ayres Writes                           Http://ruthayreswrites.blogspot.com
Watch. Connect. Read.                   http://www.MrSchuReads.com
One Page to the Next                    www.onepagetothenext.blogspot.com
Van Meter Library Voice                    http://vanmeterlibraryvoice.blogspot.com
The Family That Reads Together       thefamilythatreadstogegether.com
Roundtable Reviews for Kids             http://roundtableforkids.blogspot.com
Sharpread                                         www.mrcolbysharp.com
The Children's Book Review        www.thechildrensbookreview.com

And of course if you want to buy the book you can click HERE!  
(you'll be taken to my favorite children's bookstore The Red Balloon)


Now for the giveaway!

I have up for grab:
 1 copy of Ivy & Bean
3 Sets of Ivy & Bean Mini Notes

There will be three winners.  One winner for the copy of the book and one set of mini notes.  
2 others will win the mini notes.


Remember the winners from each previous week are entered for the grand prize.  And what is the grand prize you ask???




A complete set of Ivy and Bean hardcover books signed by Annie Barrows

1 set of Ivy and Bean Paper Dolls

1 Ivy and Bean Button Factory

1 Ivy and Bean READ Poster signed by Annie Barrows
Set of Ivy and Bean Silly Bandz
Set of Ivy and Bean stickers

AND – a super-secret really cool prize still being worked on (stay tuned!)
a Rafflecopter giveaway

1 comment:

  1. This is one of the most popular chapter books series in my elementary school library. The 1st and 2nd grade girls love it!

    ReplyDelete