Make the Rules

Ivy & Bean #9

by Annie Barrows, Sophie Blackall (Illustrator)

Bean's older sister, Nancy, is going to Girl Power 4-Ever Camp, where she will do Crafts and Music and First Aid and other secret things that Bean will never know about because girls have to be eleven to go to Girl Power 4-Ever Camp. Bean doesn't care. She doesn't want to go to camp. She wouldn't go even if they begged her. So ha. So ha ha. So-wait a second Bean and Ivy can make their own camp, their own better camp: Camp Flaming Arrow, where counselors Ivy and Bean will give a whole new meaning to Crafts, Music, First Aid, and hands-on learning

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Chapter Books, Humor, Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Friendship

128 pages, Hardcover

First published July 13, 2012

About the author

Annie grew up in Northern California, and graduated from the University of California at Berkeley, with a degree in Medieval History. Unable to find a job in the middle ages, she decided upon a career as an editor, eventually landing at Chronicle Books in San Francisco, where she was in charge of "all the books that nobody in their right mind would publish." After earning an M.F.A. in Creative Writing at Mills College, Annie wrote (as Ann Fiery) a number of books for grown-ups about such diverse subjects as fortune-telling (she can read palms!), urban legends (there are no alligators in the sewer!), and opera (she knows what they're singing about!). In 2003, Annie grew weary of grown-ups, and began to write for kids, which she found to be way more fun.

Reviews

[Carmen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bean: small, dark, mischievous with a penchant for bad words and practical jokes. Ivy: taller, redhead, soft-spoken with a flare for using big words and reading constantly. Together: unstoppable.

This book is so good. The first 5-star I've given to an I&B book.

It all starts when Nancy, Bean's older sister, is going to Girl Power 4 Ever Camp. She is 11. Since Been is only 7, she can't go. The only camp available to 7-year-olds is lame Puppet Fun! camp.

Bean plans on building a tree house. When that ends in epic fail, she uses a copy of Nancy's camp itinerary to create her own camp with Ivy.

She an Ivy are the camp counselors. They name their camp Camp Flaming Arrow, because that sounds cool.

First is crafts. They try to make friendship bracelets...but it doesn't go so well.

"You know," said Ivy. "I already know we're friends. It's not like I need a bracelet to figure it out."

They decide tying each other up and playing Houdini is much more fun. That leads to the next chapter opening with this hilarious line:

Ivy had just finished tying Bean's arm and leg together behind her back when they heard a voice say, "That's weird."

There's an illustration of this as well, and it made me laugh. They investigate and find two "runaways" (really they are kids who have to stay out of the house 'til dinner): a 6-year-old boy named Harlan and a 7-year-old girl named Franny. They become the first campers of Camp Flaming Arrow. This is great, because it means it's not a girls-only camp. All four kids have so much fun tying each other up that they can't wait for the next day of "camp."

The next day is Nature Study. The kids are worried that it's going to be boring, until Ivy tells them about Komodo dragons.

"Komodo dragons are lizards," Ivy explained. "They're longer than two grown-ups put together. Their spit is red and poisonous. And guess what: They don't ever poop."
"What do they look like?" asked Harlan. "How can they not poop?"
"They look like giant brown lizards," answered Ivy. "They can't chew. They don't have any taste buds." She didn't know how they could not poop, so she didn't answer that question.

Then Ivy hands out supplies to each camper and informs them that they are going to capture a Komodo dragon. Bean starts acting like a cowboy. She starts saying things like: "Don't fret, little fella" and "rubbing the part of her face where a beard would be." SO FUNNY. And really the kind of thing a little kid would do, even though on the surface it appears to have nothing to do with the task at hand.

They start to hunt for Komodo dragons throughout the park. They find some clues. Finally, they spot a soccer field where there is a soccer camp. Leo, their friend from school is playing soccer. Bean immediately identifies him as a Komodo Dragon and the chase is on. Confused Leo is running away from four kids armed with butterfly nets and a big stick. They eventually catch him, tackle him, and net him. He's having a blast, and quickly ropes some other kids into being Komodos (no pun intended).

The girls still have to lead their ever-growing number of campers through Dance, Strength Training (super-cool, they play Light As a Feather, Stiff As a Board - except they play a different version than I grew up playing), and in a chapter titled: Zombie Problem in Monkey Park they learn First Aid. I think you can guess how that turns out!!! Tons of small bandaged children coated in fake blood staggering around pretending to be zombies. SO FUNNY. Lastly, they tackle Great Women of History, which leads to a huge, 20-or-so kid battle in which Boudicca, Queen of the Britons, leads her army against the Romans. Chaos ensues!!!

This book is so cute, quotable, and laugh-out-loud funny that I was forced to give it a five-star rating. Barrows thrusts the reader straight back into their 7-year-old self, in which every day is an adventure and every moment an opportunity to get dirty and have fun. Ivy and Bean creatively take a negative (not being old enough to attend camp) and turn it into LOADS OF FUN by making the best camp ever! Blackall's illustrations only add to the humor and good spirits as she brings Ivy and Bean's suburban world to life, occasionally in full two-page spreads. I appreciate the fact that Bean and her sister Nancy (who up to this point have only shown hatred and disdain for each other) have a nice bonding moment in this book and seemed to give each other a little slack.

Highly recommended to parents and children.

[Marya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've noticed that many series for girls tend to feature a token collection: girls from different backgrounds come together to make one girl supergroup. And no, I'm not referring to race or socioeconomic class, but rather high school clique, a la the jocks, the nerds, etc. What's always puzzled me is what the girls have in common. They all have amazing adventures, but it seems their only function is to collaborate on these adventure projects. In real life, the jocks want to play sports, the nerds want to go to a sci-fi convention, and so on. Friends are friends because they have common interests and values, because they have a great time when NOT on adventures, and not because they have to represent all niches like a work committee.
That's one of the things I like about Ivy and Bean. Ivy might be a prim book nerd, and Bean might be an down-and-dirty troublemaker, but both girls are passionate about dramatic play. Specifically, crazy, imaginative, ambitious dramatic play. Ivy might get her ideas from books, and Bean might get her ideas from the real world around her, but both girls are determined to carry through their ideas on exorcising a ghost, solving global warming, or, in this book, starting a Spring Break camp. Having had to help design a week long camp myself, I can totally appreciate how "first aid" can turn into zombie theater and be totally awesome!

[Books Kids Like · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though Bean loudly proclaims that she doesn't have time to go to some silly camp during spring break, a part of her wishes that she could spend the week doing crafts, studying nature, learning first aid, dance, drama, and social skills at Nancy's Girl Power-4-Ever camp. Bean, with Ivy's help, tries to build a tree house. When that fails, the girls make a tent. Then, they invent Camp Flaming Arrow and put up their tent in the park where all the other camps are taking place. The first day, the girls spy on Nancy's camp and see them doing crafts. So Bean and Ivy do crafts in their tent. Each day, they plan a different activity and, each day, they attract more and more campers from other camps. Unsurprising to Ivy+Bean fans, crafts, nature study, first aid, and famous-women-in-history take a rather odd but fun format.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Bean's older sister Nancy heads off to a female empowerment day camp, Bean wishes she could do the same. Her best friend Ivy convinces her that they don't need to wait until they're old enough for the camp; instead, they will be in charge of their own camp at the park. While things start off very slowly, by the time the book finishes, the two have attracted many other children and have hunted Komodo dragons, led a tap dancing troupe, bandaged themselves and wandered about the park as zombies, and chased trash as Briton soldiers. It's all wonderfully silly and plenty of good fun. The creativity of the two friends shines through the activities they design and their disinterest in formalizing the camp with brochures and t-shirts as Nancy suggests. The ink illustrations made me smile several times since they portray two girls having the time of their lives across the book's pages.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ivy + Bean is a series for young grade-schoolers that I just cannot resist following, even now that Natalya has “outgrown” them. And yet, who was that blue-haired young lady giggling from behind a book and coming up to me to set it down with a satisfied sigh? “Oh, mom, the zombie-part was awesome. And the Komodo-catcher…; and the…” I love Ivy + Bean.*

Feeling a bit sorry for the younger daughter who WILL NOT go to Puppet Fun! the only camp for her age-group, Bean’s mom thinks Bean is finally old enough—if accompanied by Ivy—to go to Monkey Park without supervision. This means Bean is not constrained to Pancake Court or stuck figuring out how to build a tree house in the front yard with only one board. Using a flier from Nancy’s camp as a guide, Ivy and Bean decide to host their own camp, slinging old curtains over a low hanging branch in Monkey Park to make a tent. It doesn’t hurt that they can compare notes with Girl Power 4-Ever (a day camp) who is using Monkey Park, too–as are several other summer day camps actually.

It isn’t long before Ivy and Bean find themselves with two campers who are visiting a relative who is not all that interested in keeping them entertained. This makes “Crafts” even more interesting where making friendship bracelets (like Girl Power 4-Ever) quickly morphs into Houdini cuffs from which Ivy shows them how to escape.

Ivy and Bean looked at each other with shining eyes. This was going to be good. No one ever let them make the rules.

“Rule number one!” said Bean. “You can only have as much fun as you are willing to get hurt!”

“What?” said Franny.

“Rule two!” said Ivy. “Live and learn!” Her mom said that a lot.

“Rule three!” yelled Bean. “The counselor is always right!”

Ivy began to giggle. “Rule four! If you want to make an omelet, you’re going to have to break some eggs!”

“If you can’t beat’em, join’em!” bellowed Bean.

“Don’t get mad, get even!” yelled Ivy.

“I don’t think this is a real camp,” said Franny.

“Time for crafts!” shouted Bean. (58-9).

As they work their way down the list of activities throughout the week, Camp Flaming Arrow expands in number under Ivy and Bean’s on-the-fly interpretations of what each activity on the flier might involve: “Nature Study, Mind/Body Strength Training, Drama, First Aid, Dance, Social Skills, Plus! Our Role Models: great Women of History.” Drama and First Aid were artfully combined in a chapter titled “Zombie Problem in Monkey Park.” Yeah, how did we ever manage First Aid without face paint and bandages? Ivy and Bean (and cohorts) are at their bold and creative best in Make the Rules.

The hilarious and disruptive escapades are enough of a reason to read Make the Rules, but the comparison to Camp Flaming Arrow to others that promise “Hands-On Learning in a Safe and Supportive Atmosphere” (Girl Power 4-Ever flier, p 13) is amusing—and poignant when, for instance, you compare Bean’s sense of “girl power” to Nancy’s on page 100 (parentheticals mine): “I can’t get up and dance with a wart,” wailed Nancy. “Everyone will think I’m gross!” She ran out of the kitchen. She was crying. (the wart is on her knuckle.) Bean’s mother sighed. She looked over at Bean (who had missed her earlier cue to not “see” the wart), and then she followed Nancy. Bean watched her go, frowning. What was that all about?” Another instance? Ivy shared about and then led an army as Briton Queen Boudicca (also known as Boadicea) for their “Great Woman of History,” Nancy mentions they had a slide show.

“Long live the queen!” yelled Franny.

“Yah! Yah!” squalled the tiny kids.

Their squalling made all their moms look up, and once those moms looked up, they started losing their minds. Something about sticks poking eyes. In no time at all, Boudicca’s warriors were kicked out of the fountain.

“I guess we’d better quit,” said Bean, squeezing out her shirt.

Ivy nodded, dumping the last of the Romans into the garbage can.

“This was the best day yet,” said Leo. (114)

—

a quick bit about the illustrations. long-time readers will remember that I adore Sophie Blackall’s work. Blackall and Barrows make for a great team, so highly expressive in text and image, the illustrations keeping good balance/timing with the text. Blackall adds fun detail to the creation of all the personalities we encounter in the stories, not just Ivy + Bean who are awesomely rendered. I’m sure I go on and on in my reviews of Books 7 & 8 (linked below).

———–

recommendations: boys or girls, early readers 5-8 are the targeted age. for the fun, free-spirited sort kid who likes to laugh (so any child). a good gift for the child of your helicopter parent friend, and/or any child who can appreciate the factoid we find on page 94-5, “[Komodo dragons] don’t poop!”. This is a phenomenal series about friendship, childhood, and creative thinking.

L (omphaloskepsis)
http://contemplatrix.wordpress.com/20...

[Cindy Hudson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ivy and Bean fans can rejoice at the new title in the series, Ivy + Bean Make the Rules.

Bean thinks it’s not fair that her sister Nancy gets to go to Girl Power 4-Ever summer camp while she is only old enough to sign up for Puppet Fun! At seven, she’s not a baby anymore, and she wishes others would realize that too.

But Bean doesn’t want to just stay home moping around while Nancy has fun all day, so she’s excited when her mom says she’s old enough to walk to the park with Ivy. That’s when the fun really begins, as together Bean and Ivy create their own summer camp of fun.

Ivy + Bean Make the Rules shows how much fun kids can have and how creative they can be when they have unstructured time to play. While Ivy and Bean don’t create a traditional summer camp, they do invent something that other kids have fun with and they end up learning new skills and growing their self-confidence along the way. It’s a great message for young readers to get.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Mariellen Matz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bean's older sister is going to Girl Power 4-Ever camp but Bean can't go because she is not old enough. Bean's mother can tell she is jealous of her sister and after talking to Ivy's mom the mothers decide the two girls are old enough to walk to monkey park together with out adult supervision. Bean and Ivy decide to start their own camp, Camp Flaming arrow. As the week goes on the girls gather quite a few campers and have the week of their lives!

A few activities you can do with this book is ask the children what it would be like if they started their own camp and what it's name would be. You could ask them more detailed questions like what was Ivy's idea for a camp name or to name some of the kids that started going to the camp. You could ask the kids moral question about if they thought it was right that Ivy and Bean lied about being camp counselors. Finally you could start a camp with the kids.


Barrows, Annie, and Sophie Blackall. Ivy Bean Make the Rules. San Francisco, Calif.: Chronicle, 2012. Print.

[Courtney Umlauf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bean won't admit it, but she's disappointed when she finds out she's too young to go to Girl Power 4-Ever camp with her sister Nancy. But that's OK, Ivy and Bean will just create their own camp at the park; one they'll plan and run themselves with younger neighborhood kids as their campers. Each day's theme presents them with plenty of opportunities to use their imaginations, ending with their study of Great Women of History, in which they act out the battle between Boudica, Queen of the Britons vs. the Romans.

See my review of the series as a whole here.


**For basic reading comprehension questions for this book, check out my Teachers Pay Teachers store.**

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5 stars

4/5 stars from me

5/5 from my 7 year old niece.

My niece enjoys Ivy and Bean. I've read a number of the books from the series with her.

Ivy and Bean are fun kids. And their adventures are always fun to read about.

In this story Bean's older sister Nancy (who is also very fun to read about) goes to camp. So Ivy and Bean make their own camp.

It was a cute read. And if you like Ivy and Bean books then you'll enjoy this one too.

[Karol · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun little romp. The story is about Bean being too young to attend the girls day camp with Nancy. Ivy and Bean come up with a plan and create their own fun filled day camp. I was impressed that Nancy gave the girls kudos for a job well done. It showed that big sisters can appreciate younger sisters.

[Cari White · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the perfect book for second and third grade girls. Ivy and Bean create their own fun, crazy summer camp, and nearby kids randomly join in. No adult structure, just kids playing outside together, running around, making tents out of blankets, pretending to be zombies or Komodo dragons. A great choice for summer reading, to inspire a child's own creative fun.

[Donald · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite so far! Ivy and Bean start their own summer camp and they are a success! With their fertile imaginations, the "traditional" aspects of other camps turn in to something much more fun! My daughter and I both loved the twist at the end, when the girls take down their tent! :-)
We have our fingers crossed for a #10!

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite so far.

[Loraena · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite Ivy & Bean books.

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is way above my reading level but I still loved it

[John Hammond · Rating 5 out of 5]

SURRENDER ROMAN DOG!

[Jahnavi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ivy and Bean make the rules by Annie Barrows is a great read for children.
This book is the ninth in the series. In this book, Nancy , Bean's older sister is going to a camp for older girls. Bean cannot go because she is just 7. Kids of 7 can only go to the puppet fun camp that she is not interested in. On Nancy's girl power even in camp she will do craft, music and other secret things Bean didn't know. Then Bean and Ivy her best friend, have an idea. They can make their own camp, the one better than Nancy's.
This book is simple to read and easy to understand. This book is funny and humorous . Beginners will find this book helpful. I liked this book. The illustrations will also make reading fun. Best book for young readers.
Keep reading.
Check my YouTube channel JP Kid Studio for more Reviews.

[Samantha Kolber · Rating 3 out of 5]

The six year old gives this three stars because, she says, “it was good enough that I could read the whole thing without complaining about it. It was funny how Bean was clapping once they took down the fort Nancy was spying on them and she said ‘well if you were spying on me then I will spy on you.’ The book was sort of funny. It was cool when they put tons of Bandaids all over them and pretended to be Zombies like Uhhhh Uhhhh.” Well, there you have it folx. A review straight from the mouth of a six year old.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorites in the series!!

Love the clever things they do for their summer camp -- their name, bracelets turned Houdini, komodo dragons, great women of history, and more.

Loved all the ways they include other kids. And the fun they have along the way.

A great addition to the Ivy and Bean books!

[Magan · Rating 4 out of 5]

E (almost 7) gives it 5 stars and G (almost 5) gives it 3 stars so we settled on 4. 😂 The Ivy & Bean books are great read aloud for our family. They focus on two best friends, but also on the complex dynamics between two sisters.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better Ivy and Bean books. Had us laughing. And I love that the siblings didn’t fight as much in this one.

[Diana S · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ☆☆☆
Cute story - They made going to camp fun. :)

[Mike Forster Rothbart · Rating 5 out of 5]

My ten year old loves this series and so do I. The stories are enjoyable, the characters so well-developed, and the relationships feel authentic. We're currently reading the whole series aloud for a second time.

[Nothing But Kids Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bean won't admit it, but she's disappointed when she finds out she's too young to go to Girl Power 4-Ever camp with her sister Nancy. But that's OK, Ivy and Bean will just create their own camp at the park; one they'll plan and run themselves with younger neighborhood kids as their campers. Each day's theme presents them with plenty of opportunities to use their imaginations, ending with their study of Great Women of History, in which they act out the battle Boudica, Queen of the Britons vs. the Romans.

Review questions for this book are available in the Nothing But Kids Books store on TpT!

TpT | Pinterest | Similar Titles | Series Review

[Marika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imogen: at the end, Nancy got tired up with ropes D ivy and bean showed Nancy how to escape. And at the way way end, the last page, Nancy is super nice. I liked the book and I think other people will like it too. Nancy went to girl power 4 ever camp. Ivy And bean felt bad so they made a fort and they made a camp and kids went to the camp and they were the counselors. People liked the camp and they had a lot of fun in the camp. It is so good. I hope other people read it a lot. If they do, thanks.

[Kylie Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book for children about friendship

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure why I like these enough to keep reading, but they're getting better. I like that the kids are free-range and use their imaginations. I really like the ending here, in which certain plans are (not) made for next time....

However, it's not true that Komodo dragons don't poop.
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Glad I decided to reread. Lots of fun, but minimal naughtiness, and zero unkindness (except from Nancy, and she wasn't too bad).

[Shelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fantastic book from the Ivy and Bean Collection! Ivy and Bean are not old enough to get into camp "Girl Power 4-Ever!" and they are too old and uninterested in attending "Camp Puppet Fun." Instead they create their own camp, appointing themselves camp counselors. A super fun read that kids off all ages can read and giggle over.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm about to get a 1st-or 2nd-grader to mentor, so I am brushing up on my kid-lit. This is a super fun read for girls - probably something like a precocious 1st to a slightly slow 4th-grade level or so? Lots of fun, and imaginative just like little kids are. It's also a decent length and has delightful pictures, so you can make it last a long time without losing the kid's attention.

[emyrose8 · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5- Ivy and Bean as camp counselors... hilarious! I love how Bean spies on Nancy to figure out what to do for their camp... and how they keep convincing more and more kids to join! Another one of my favorites in the series.

Note- listened to the audio book