New friends Ivy and Bean return, and this time there's a ghost with them. It's shy Ivy who sees the mist coming out of the girls' bathroom at school, and loyal Bean soon sees it, too. Despite doubting friends and irritated teachers, the girls are determined to rid the bathroom of this malevolent presence. The series, previously so grounded in reality, takes a supernatural turn here, and readers may not know what to make of the ghost. But as before, the series' strong suits are humor and the spot-on take on relationships.

Best mates Ivy and Bean reunite for some schoolyard hijinks in this sophomore collaboration from Barrows and Blackall. The normally reserved Ivy discovers the persuasive powers of an overactive imagination when she tries to avoid doing cartwheels during recess. While Ivy's impromptu mention of the ghost in the girl's bathroom may have diverted everyone's attention from her lack of gymnastic skills, her story soon spirals into schoolyard mayhem. Barrows displays a keen sense of what constitutes second-grade humor; readers will be snickering in glee over Ivy and Bean's antics. Hilarity ensues when the duo perform an elaborate ceremony, complete with a special potion they concocted, to expel the ghost. Barrows provides the humorous banter while Blackall's pencil sketches do a fine job of capturing the comical overtones of the girl's activities. This strong follow-up to Ivy and Bean (June 2006) is bound to please fans. (Picture book. 7-10)

Gr 1-3-This story defies expectations of what an early chapter book can be. When the normally quiet Ivy tells her classmates that there's a ghost in the second-grade bathroom, reactions vary from fascination to fear. When a girl refuses to use the bathroom, though, Ms. Aruba-Tate's gentle reprimand sends Ivy reeling, and she and her friend Bean decide to make the problem go away by performing an exorcism. Barrows keeps the language simple and clear without sacrificing wit and subtlety. While Ivy steadfastly insists that the ghost is real, sensitive readers will see her diversionary tactic for what it is. (She doesn't want anyone to know she can't do a cartwheel.) The author even makes the occasional vocabulary lesson palatable ("Cody had lit two garbage cans on fire and wasn't allowed to come back to school anymore. He was expelled"). The slightly wider than normal format with large print, lots of white space, fun detailing, and Blackall's expressive illustrations make an attractive package that will be welcome in most collections.-Adrienne Furness, Webster Public Library, NY Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.