New to Ivy and Bean
Start with Ivy and Bean. It explains why the neighbors avoid each other at first and how one mischievous plan changes their minds.
Book Series · 12 Books
Ivy and Bean Books
In order from Ivy + Bean to Ivy + Bean Get to Work!.
Quiet, imaginative Ivy and energetic, impulsive Bean become unlikely best friends whose ordinary neighborhood and school days rarely stay ordinary. These heavily illustrated early chapter books turn mischief, misunderstandings, and big ideas into warm stories about friendship.
Reviewed by the Bookroo Editors Updated
Reading order
How to Read the Ivy and Bean Books
Read the twelve numbered books in publisher order, from Ivy and Bean through Get to Work! The stories are episodic and each adventure stands on its own, but starting at book #1 shows how two girls who expect not to like each other become friends and introduces the families and neighbors who return later.
Get to Work! is book #12 and the publisher identifies it as the final story. Boxed sets simply collect portions of the same sequence, while the Netflix movies are screen adaptations rather than additional books.
Sources: Chronicle Books: Ivy and Bean book 1, Chronicle Books: final book 12, Chronicle Books numbered boxed-set inventory.
For parents
What Parents Should Know
Ivy and Bean disobey adults, play tricks, argue with siblings, tell tall tales, and sometimes make a mess before recognizing the consequences. Ghosts, witches, curses, and other spooky ideas appear as children's games or misunderstandings rather than sustained supernatural danger.
The publisher recommends the short, illustrated chapter books for roughly ages 6–10. Humor drives the series, but the friendship also makes room for apology, empathy, creative problem-solving, and accepting a friend whose personality is very different from your own.
Where to start
Where Should My Child Start?
A child can follow almost any adventure independently, though book #1 gives the friendship its best beginning.
Trying one from the library
A different numbered book can still work as a sample because each volume resolves its own school or neighborhood adventure.
Where the story begins
First Book in the Series
Sale price
$674
Book #1 · Chapter Book · Ages 6–10 · 2006
Ivy + Bean
By Annie Barrows, Sophie Blackall (Illustrator)
A young girl befriends a classmate who claims to be a witch and together they cast a spell on the girl's older sister
120 pages· 7,842 words· Est. 1.5 hour read
$6.99Save 4%
Paperback
Summary: Bean thinks Ivy is too boring to be friends with, but when a prank goes awry, Ivy's quick thinking saves the day. Together, they dive into a world of mischief and laughter, proving that the best friendships often start unexpectedly. Join Ivy and Bean as they navigate the ups and downs of childhood, learning about empathy and understanding along the way. Will their adventures bring them closer, or will their differences drive them apart? Discover the heartwarming and hilarious journey of two girls who find friendship in the most unexpected places.
In reading order
Ivy and Bean Series
12 books · Published 2006–2021
#1
Sale price
$674
Ivy + Bean
Chapter Book · Ages 6–10 · 2006
A young girl befriends a classmate who claims to be a witch and together they cast a spell on the girl's older sister
#2
Sale price
$574
Ivy + Bean and the Ghost That Had to Go
Chapter Book · Ages 7–9 · 2006
Two second-grade friends try to rid their school of a ghost that is haunting the bathroom.
#3
Sale price
$674
Ivy + Bean Break the Fossil Record
Chapter Book · Ages 6–10 · 2007
Two young friends try to break a world record and become famous.
#4
Sale price
$574
Ivy + Bean Take Care of the Babysitter
Chapter Book · Ages 6–10 · 2008
A young girl named Bean is left in the care of her older sister Nancy, who is babysitting for the first time, and chaos ensues as Bean tries to escape and have fun despite Nancy's rules
#5
Sale price
$574
Ivy + Bean: Bound to Be Bad
Chapter Book · Ages 6–10 · 2008
Two friends try to be good and attract animals to them, but things don't go as planned and they end up causing chaos in their neighborhood.
#6
Sale price
$574
Ivy + Bean: Doomed to Dance
Chapter Book · Ages 6–10 · 2009
Two friends try to escape their ballet class by running away to the aquarium, but things don't go as planned.
#7
Sale price
$574
Ivy + Bean: What's the Big Idea?
Chapter Book · Ages 6–10 · 2010
Two second-grade girls try to find a solution to global warming for their school science fair.
#8
Sale price
$574
Ivy + Bean: No News is Good News
Chapter Book · Ages 7–9 · 2011
Two friends try to get their hands on a special kind of cheese that comes with a fun wax coating.
#9
Sale price
$574
Ivy + Bean Make the Rules
Chapter Book · Ages 6–10 · 2012
A young girl creates her own summer camp with her friend and recruits other kids to join in on the fun.
#10
Sale price
$574
Ivy + Bean Take the Case
Chapter Book · Ages 6–10 · 2013
A young girl becomes a private investigator to solve the mystery of a yellow rope that appears in her neighborhood.
#11
Sale price
$574
Ivy + Bean: One Big Happy Family
Chapter Book · Ages 6–10 · 2018
A young girl tries to get a sister to cure her of being spoiled.
#12
Sale price
$574
Ivy + Bean Get to Work!
Chapter Book · Ages 6–10 · 2021
A group of second-graders become obsessed with finding treasure after meeting a treasure hunter at their school's career fair.
Good to know
Common Questions
How many books are in the Ivy and Bean series?
There are 12 books in the Ivy and Bean series. It began with Ivy + Bean in 2006, and the newest book, Ivy + Bean Get to Work!, was published in 2021.
What order should you read the Ivy and Bean books in?
Start with Ivy + Bean and follow the series order — the books above are numbered #1 through #12.
What ages are the Ivy and Bean books best for?
The series is best for ages 6–10, based on the age ranges of the individual books.
Which Ivy and Bean book is the longest?
Ivy + Bean Make the Rules (Book #9) is the longest book in the series at 9,330 words (144 pages).
Which Ivy and Bean book is the shortest?
Ivy + Bean (Book #1) is the shortest at 7,842 words (120 pages).
The people
The Creatives Behind the Books
The people who bring Ivy and Bean to life.
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