The Jellybeans and the Big Art Adventure

by Laura Joffe Numeroff, Nate Evans, Lynn Munsinger (Illustrator)

The Jellybeans are ready for an art adventure when Bitsy enlists the other girls to help her paint a mural at their favorite place: the candy shop! After a fun trip to the museum to learn about art, the four Jellybeans use their different strengths and talents to work together to create a colorful success.

This fourth book in the successful, New York Times bestselling series once again shows, whether readers are girly girls, bookworms, artists, or tomboys, that there is a Jellybean for everyone!

Genres: Picture Books, Art, Friendship, Animals, Childrens, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2012

About the author

Laura Joffe Numeroff is the NYT best-selling author of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, What Mommies/Daddies Do Best and Raising a Hero. She was born in Brooklyn, New York and graduated from Pratt Institute. Laura grew up as the youngest of three girls, surrounded by art, music, and books. An avid animal lover, Laura has always wanted to write a book about service dogs. She now lives in Los Angeles, California.

Reviews

[Cosette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable

[Dorothy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: The Jellybeans are four girls; Bitsy, who paints, Emily, who dances, Anna, who reads, and Nicole who plays soccer. Each girl is different but they each bring something special to their friendship. They hang out at Petunia’s which is a candy shop where they eat their favorite candy: Jellybeans. They shop owner is really fond of them. One day when they are there, Bitsy shows them her painting and the shop owner, Petunia, asks her to paint a mural for the store. Together as a group they start to paint; Nicole paints flowers, Emily paints a rainbow, Anna paints large colorful letter, and Bitsy paints the four of them; the Beans. At first Bitsy doesn't know what to paint and she's worried about messing up. The other three girls start working on their parts of the mural right away. In the end, Bitsy is just worried that PEtunia won't like the mural, but she does. As a reward Petunia gives them Jellybeans.

My thoughts: This is a really cute book about friendship. It shows that even people with different interests are able to be best-friends and I think that it's such an important lesson for young children. Just because somebody likes different things that you, that doesn't mean that you can't be friends with them or that you shouldn't it just means that you'll have to figure out things that you like to do together.

Use in Classroom: Perfect for a read-aloud after a long day of class or even right before lunch to break up the school work into something fun to read to students. Also good for the in-class library for younger students, k-2 students to practice their ability to read.

[Z'Nia Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I LOVED READING THESE BOOKS AS A KID! This book is adorable. The owner of Petunia’s candy shop needs a mural that is eye catching. Bitsy convinces her friends, who have different talents and hobbies, to help her. Even though the friends don’t have the same hobby, they still manage to come together as one. I loved how they were paid by what gave them their name. I love art myself and was always a fan of watercolor, but I could never master how to do it. To see the illustrations are watercolor was beautiful and was the reason I chose to read the book.

[Lauren Stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a cute book about a pig who loves art. She explored many different types of art throughout the story, then paints a big mural at the end. One of the lessons from this story is to be proud of what you create, because the pig was nervous to share her mural with everyone at the end of the story.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the things I like about this series of books is that you can start with any of them and the author gives enough background on the four friends so that each book feels independent, and with a good story. One does not have to read them in order to get the idea of the friends.

[Morgan Stout · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a sweet story of great friends and their unique talents. The prose is simple enough for early toddlers and the story is meaningful enough for preschoolers. The watercolor illustrations make it an all-in-all beautiful book!

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another of the Jellybean stories. This time they discover how much fun it is to be an artist.

[Susan S.C.C.L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute series about the friendship of four creative friends. I loved all the detailed illustrations. Definitely a story to read to my granddaughter.

[Karla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kids love this author- this story is longer than the typical preschool story attention span. Some new vocabulary to discuss and illustrations were cute- just not quite the mouse original

[Mely · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun, cute, girly book. A story about friends and art.

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Four friends, each with different interests, play to their strengths when painting a mural in their neighborhood. This is a happy, gentle little book, albeit not especially memorable.

[Jessi Gaul · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a cute book about friendship and how everyone is unique in their own ways. I really liked this book, I thought it was fun and creative. The illustrations were really good as well!

[Jannat Benhadhram · Rating 4 out of 5]

Normal and good.

[Norshakila Makmon · Rating 4 out of 5]

i like how the jellybeans all had different hobbies but could still come together and make something amazing together. cute story!

[Lily Asplund · Rating 5 out of 5]

i thought this book was a fun way to learn about art. I think this book also is apart of a series and there is other jellybeans books. This book was cute and would definitely be fun for a classroom.

[Jordyn Reddy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Jellybeans and the Big Art Adventure by Laura Joffe Numeroff is an adorable book. The four main characters are best friends and they all have different interests but get along great. They all call themselves the jellybeans because jellybeans are all different flavors, and they all have different personalities. This book really emphasized friendship and teamwork.

[Jordyn Agost · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Jellybeans and the Big Art Adventure is about four best friends. They each enjoy to do separate things however, they all realize that even though they are different they can still be best friends. Just like jellybeans in how they are so different with many colors and flavors yet they come together as one. Bitsy, loves to paint and is given the opportunity to paint a mural for the candy shop but needs the help of her best friends. They were all scared because they don’t know how to paint like she does. So Bitsy teaches them how to paint by taking them all to a museum where each piece is very unique. The girls come together to work as a team.
I really enjoy the theme of the book event though it is clearly stated in the beginning. There are more lessons that can be learned though and it is nice to see the lesson unfold in front of you with the four different girls. This book could be shown to help students understand leadership and the importance of each role to form a team. Each girl had created her own unique piece of the mural that without it, the piece would not have been complete.

[Pamela Vargas · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Jellybeans and the Big Adventure is the story of four girls - Bitsy (Painter), Emily (Dancer), Anna(Reader), Nicole (Soccer player) - and how their adventure on painting a mural. These four girls all had different interests, but the love of jellybeans unites them as friends, in which they call themselves the BEAN group. After Bitsy has trouble coming up with an idea on what to paint on the mural outside of a cafe, Emily, Anna and Nicole come together to help Bitsy to achieve a great mural painting.

This story shows kids that friendship can conquer the hardest trials. Each of the book is the books in the "Jellybeans Series" starts with by discussing the interest of each girl, and then one girl has trouble with a certain situation but all of the other friends come together to help their friend out. Laura Numeroff keeps the same pattern in this series as she does in her other ones: watercolor paintings on a white background that allows kids from preschool up to 2nd grade learn that friends can go a long way. Personifying the animals as humans allows kids to get in sync with their imagination and have fun with this loving story.

[Danielle]

This book is about four friends who all have very different interests, but are great friends anyway. One loves to draw, one loves to read, one loves to dance, and one loves to play soccer. However, what they have in common is their love for jellybeans. So they go to the candy shop and are given a project to paint a mural on the wall outside. They each use their special skill set to create something wonderful that goes perfectly together, just like their friendship.

For this book I would have the students do a journaling entry and talk about what they are good at and what they love, but share what one of their friends does that's different. I would encourage them to write about what they would paint on their mural if they got a chance and how their special talent could be used to help make the mural.

Numeroff, L., & Evans, N. (2012). The Jellybeans and the Big Art Adventure. Harry N. Abrams.

[Emmaline MacBeath · Rating 5 out of 5]

This next adventure of the girl's group called the Jellybeans concentrates on Bitsy's gift of art. Emily loves to dance, Anna loves to read, Nicole loves to play soccer, but Bitsy loves art. She paints and draws wherever she goes. One day, the owner of the candy shop where they buy their jellybeans asks Bitsy to paint a mural. Bitsy asks her friends to help. She teaches them a little bit about art and they each do their part to create a beautiful mural.

The thing I like most about the Jellybean character books is how each of the girls are very different from each other in what they like to do, but they are the best of friends. I love how they encourage each other to succeed no matter what they are doing. This is a very uplifting book series. The illustrations are colorful and interesting.

I would highly recommend this book to all age children.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

When the owner of Petunia's candy shop needs an attractive mural for her shop, artistic Bitsy convinces her three friends, all of whom have different talents, to help her. I like the way the friends are all different and have different hobbies and yet still manage to support one another. Even when Bitsy is stumped for what to paint, they urge her on. Of course, it's fitting that they are paid for their work with the very candy that gave them their names--Jellybeans. Fans of this series--this is the fourth title--will love the story and the watercolor illustrations filled with all sorts of expressions. The last page with the friends' mouths filled to overflowing with the different colored sweets sums the story's message up perfectly.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second book in this series that we've read. This one is about Bitsy who loves to paint. The owner of the Jellybean shop they always go to asks Bitsy to paint a masterpiece on the side wall. All of her friends help out in their own way and Bitsy finishes it off.

What I like about these books is that it shows how you can use your own abilities to do other things - like use a soccer ball to make the center of a flower or do a ballet dance and brush the paintbrush across the wall to make strokes.

It's a cute book. The stories at cute enough to grab when we see them, but not quite engaging enough to specifically seek them out.

[Clarissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute illustrations, sweet, but ordinary story. Four friends are all different, but get along well together. Each one is good at something: painting, reading, soccer, and ballet. The lady who owns the candy store asks the artist pig character to paint a wall outside her store. The pig has her friends help her, and then experiences a brief crisis in which she worries that everyone will see her art and judge it. She overcomes this fear when her friends encourage her that she will be brilliant, and then paints a mural of the four of them.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A subtle lesson that tells us even though we are all different, we can all get along anyway.
Bitsy LOVES to paint.
Emily LOVES to dance.
Anna LOVE to read.
And, Nicole LOVES to play soccer.

They're just like jelly beans: different flavors that get along well with one another.
Mrs. Petunia Dinley-Sneezer, onwer of Petunia's Candy Shop 'commissions' them to paint a mural on her wall. Just like the Jellybeans, the mural is colorful, full of togetherness, and joyful!

[Kathy Ellen Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story!
I like the concept of the friends all liking different things, but all working together.
With four main characters, it could get a little confusing, but it doesn't in this book.
The problem in the story centers around one character, but they all work together to solve it.

With four main characters, each child reading the book is BOUND to find someone to relate to!
Great illustrations too.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about four friends who each love doing different things. However, they have one thing in common: their love of jellybeans. The friends learn to use each of their special talents to create a special project together. This book is great for explaining that it is okay for friends to have different talents. When you come together and put your special talents together, you can create something much greater.

[Ariel Cummins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, very sparkly book about how everyone has a different thing they are good at. A wee bit heavy-handed at times, but overall, it has nice resolution and a solid story.

Art is pretty nice, with the animals being surprisingly realistic looking.

Few enough words-per-page to make it a possible storytime book.

[Sarah A · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is quite a fun picture book about 4 friends who are very different with very different interests apart from their overlapping love of jellybeans! The four are friends despite their differences teaching a great lesson to readers. They also draw from their strengths to work together on a project with a wonderful result.

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Jelly Beans--four friends who like to do such different things as paint, play soccer, read, and dance--paint a mural on an outside wall of Mrs. Petunia Dinkley-Sneezer's candy shop that depicts them each doing what they love best.

[Shelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet story of friendship between three very different girls. Lynn Munsinger's easily recognizable picture style always cause instant conversation between me and my daughter, remembering all the other fabulous books she has illustrated that we have shared.