I think that Ivy + Bean makes a great read aloud in fourth grade. Even though some of my students walk in to class reading books at a “higher level” than Ivy + Bean, I feel that reading aloud Ivy + Bean to fourth graders can be super awesome for these 4 reasons.
Nine Books in the Series
With the release of Ivy and Bean Make the rules the series is now nine books strong. If I read the first book in the series, chances are many of my fourth graders will read the whole darn thing. That gives them a couple of weeks reading about characters that they fell in love with during the read aloud.
Cover Girls
I think that it is important for the boys in my class to see that books with girls on the cover can be awesome. I’m a boy, and when I was young I didn’t want much to do with books with a girl on the cover (thank God for Charlotte’s Web). I want my boys to see that books with girls on the cover can be awesome, and I want girls to see that books with boys on the cover can be awesome.
Why Can’t We Be Friends?
Ivy and Bean are very different from each other, yet they manage to make great friends. That is a lesson that I think I will be trying to help kids see for as long as I am a teacher. If a kid can see the great friendship these two characters are able to develop and maintain for nine books they may start to internalize that and apply it to the relationships they have inside and outside of class.
Short and Sweet
It isn’t super long. I like for my early 4th grade read alouds to be less than 150 pages. This allows me to get in and out of a handful of texts quickly, which builds up our shared reading experiences early in the school year.
Chronicle Books is giving away a copy of Ivy + Bean (book 7) as well as a sets of Ivy + Bean mini-notes. How cool is that?
Rules for the Giveaway
1. The giveaway will run from September 26 to 11:59 PM on September 28.
2. You must be at least 13.
3. Please pay it forward.
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The winner of the giveaway will be entered to win the grand prize giveaway from Chronicle Books.
A complete set of Ivy and Bean hardcover books signed by Annie Barrows
1 Ivy and Bean Paper Doll Play Set
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
Coquette Maman
In the Pages
Kid Lit Frenzy
Media Darlings
One Page to the Next
Roundtable Reviews for Kids
Ruth Ayres Writes
Sharpread
The Children’s Book Review
The Family That Reads Together
The O.W.L.
There’s A Book
Van Meter Library Voice
Watch. Connect. Read.
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We just love the whole series and you are right, its great for multiple grade levels!
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I love your reasons! I agree, this is a great series. My girls generally like books with boys on the cover only when they are familiar with the characters, like Judy Blume’s Fudge, A to Z mysteries. Thanks for the chance to win a great prize!
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