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A review by serenaac
Ivy + Bean Doomed to Dance by Annie Barrows
3.0
Normally, I don't review children's books, but I've made an exception (yes, they do happen). I remember buying a set of Ivy + Bean books for The Girl from Diary of an Eccentric because one of the books had to do with dinosaur fossils and I had read on someone's blog (not sure who) that these books were fantastic. The Girl, suffice to say, loved them and told me all about the straws up the nose and other little tidbits from her books.
In Ivy + Bean: Doomed to Dance, Ivy and Bean are typical second-grade girls who are willing to try just about anything, and they sometimes find themselves getting into trouble or at least over their heads. In Doomed to Dance, the girls read a book about ballet and decide that they should take ballet, so they can become ballerinas in Giselle. The only problem is that ballet is not as fun or easy as it seems.
"'She doesn't leap like a kitty. She leaps like a frog,' Bean whispered to Ivy." (Page 24)
"'We can't be squids if we break our arms,' said Ivy. 'Remember what Madame Joy said? We're supposed to wave our tentacles gently to the passing tide. No way can we do that if we've got broken arms, Right?'" (Page 40)
While Ivy and Bean get into trouble -- and what kid doesn't? -- they always manage to find the positive in their situation or make amends. Some of the funniest scenes in this book are when Ivy and Bean try to get sick on purpose, having other kids cough and sneeze all over them. Young readers will laugh out loud at the antics of these young girls, and parents will enjoy these books because of the lessons they teach about responsibility and imagination. Ivy + Bean: Doomed to Dance is a fun read at nearly 130 pages, and these characters will worm their way into kids hearts easily.
In Ivy + Bean: Doomed to Dance, Ivy and Bean are typical second-grade girls who are willing to try just about anything, and they sometimes find themselves getting into trouble or at least over their heads. In Doomed to Dance, the girls read a book about ballet and decide that they should take ballet, so they can become ballerinas in Giselle. The only problem is that ballet is not as fun or easy as it seems.
"'She doesn't leap like a kitty. She leaps like a frog,' Bean whispered to Ivy." (Page 24)
"'We can't be squids if we break our arms,' said Ivy. 'Remember what Madame Joy said? We're supposed to wave our tentacles gently to the passing tide. No way can we do that if we've got broken arms, Right?'" (Page 40)
While Ivy and Bean get into trouble -- and what kid doesn't? -- they always manage to find the positive in their situation or make amends. Some of the funniest scenes in this book are when Ivy and Bean try to get sick on purpose, having other kids cough and sneeze all over them. Young readers will laugh out loud at the antics of these young girls, and parents will enjoy these books because of the lessons they teach about responsibility and imagination. Ivy + Bean: Doomed to Dance is a fun read at nearly 130 pages, and these characters will worm their way into kids hearts easily.