Second book review - Maggie D.

Ivy and Bean Take Care of the Babysitter

By: Annie Barrows and Sophie Blackall

Summary:

In this book Bean’s parents decide to go to a play one Saturday afternoon; but unfortunately, their usual babysitter is not available. The parents decide to let Bean’s older sister, Nancy, babysit her, but Bean is not happy about this. As Nancy is putting on makeup, Bean sneaks her best friend, Ivy, over and the two of them climb into the attic and get stuck. Eventually Nancy helps them out and Bean and Ivy decide they basically babysat themselves all day. Nancy tells her parent she is not ready to babysit again.

Review:

I would use this book for a group of second grade females to read individually or with a partner. Then I would have my students do projects and have discussions to reflect and interact with the text. I found this book to be very cute and entertaining with a lot of life lessons throughout it. I know I would have enjoyed this book as a second grade girl.

            This book is a chapter book, but there are pictures on every page. I think this is very helpful for children. I feel like kids understand stories a lot more clearly when they can read the words, comprehend them, and see a picture of what is going on in the story to clarify what they read. For example, when Beans and her friends are pretending to play volcano, the picture is of a huge mound of dirt. I love using pictures to interact with text. After every chapter I would have my students draw a picture of themselves or their family or friends doing something that relates to the characters and the story. It is very important for children to make these connections. I think a lot of second graders would be able to relate to not liking a babysitter, putting on their mom’s makeup, or playing pretend with their best friend.

            I believe this book would create a lot of discussion amongst second grade girls. I would want to come together as a group after every chapter and discuss what the students had read individually. I would want them to talk about what happened in the chapter, why the characters did what they did, what they were feelings, the consequences of their actions, and/or how they can relate. I want them to tell me how they feel about the book, if they like the plot, the pictures, etc. For example, I want them to tell me if it was a good idea for Ivy and Bean to go up into the attic when they knew they were not allowed. Then I want them to acknowledge that because they broke the rules, their consequence was getting stuck up there.

            The last major activity I would want my group of students to do with the book is to make a storyboard as they read the story. I think it is sometimes hard for children to remember what they read previously in a book, especially in a longer book like this one. This way before they begin reading each day they can look back and see the plot so far. I would want them to draw a small picture and write a sentence for each main part of the plot that took place. For example, I would want them to draw Bean’s parents leaving her with Nancy to babysit. They would write what was happening in the same box.  I feel like children would find this very beneficial to look back on and it will also help them comprehend what they read.

            I really enjoyed reading this book. I think it was a fun story that a lot of students will be able to relate to. I liked that it was long and a chapter book, but also had pictures on each page. There are many activities I could do to help my students interact with the text. I would highly recommend this book to any teacher of early elementary school female.

Citation: 

Barrows, Annie, & Blackall, Sophie. Ivy and Bean Take Care of the Babysitter. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books, 2008.