The kids of Pancake Court are constructing a volcano from a giant mound of dirt, but right in the middle of the eruption Bean is called home. Her parents are going out and leaving her in the custody of her older sister, Nancy. The prospect of boring home confinement with her bossy nemesis as babysitter is grim, but Bean is equal to the challenge. When Ivy shows up, the girls find that exploring Bean's mysterious attic and evading Nancy are just as exciting as making a volcano erupt. This fourth adventure of the pint-size duo with supersize imaginations is the strongest to date. Barrows and Blackall—who, like Eleanor Estes and Louis Slobodkin, make an inspired writer-artist team—have made the denizens of Pancake Court as delightful to visit as the Moffat family of Cranbury, Conn. Portrayed with clear-eyed affection and humor, Ivy and Bean are irresistible. Readers will look forward to the next installment of this series that celebrates the joys and thrills of friendship, unrestricted play and unfettered imagination. (Fiction. 6-10)

Gr 2-3 Ivy and Bean, "BFFs," are back in a new adventure. Bean is upset when her parents decide that Nancy, her 11-year-old sister, will be her babysitter for the afternoon, so she flags down Ivy with a T-shirt with SOS on it from her bedroom window. Together they find a way to get into the attic without Nancy finding out, but get locked in. All ends well with Ivy and Bean blackmailing Nancy to keep quiet about her trying their mother's makeup. Bean is a typical little sister with a big imagination. The story line and antics of the characters resemble Sara Pennypacker's "Clementine" series (Hyperion). The frequent black-and-white Chinese ink illustrations capture the mood and carefree attitude of the story well. Early chapter-book readers will enjoy this installment in this lighthearted series. Krista Tokarz, Cuyahoga County Public Library, OH