Ivy and Bean return in their fifth story in which both girls take their goodness to a new level. Ivy, having heard about St. Francis, thinks it might be nice to be so pure of heart that animals follow her around. She tries to get Bean to be good, and then to be bad, so that she can reform her and the neighborhood bully, Matt, in the process. Though not quite as crisp as the first books in the series, this is still plenty of fun, especially for the duo's many fans. As always, Blackall's delightful illustrations add smiles and substance.

In their fifth book, Ivy and Bean decide to be really good. Barrows's funny story tells how the girls try to change a bully into a nice guy (doesn't work) and have Bean act bad so Ivy can reform her. Blackall's illustrations keep up with the text (e.g., Ivy giggling but trying to look horrified when Bean whispers a bad word).

How hard can it be to be bad? When a morning of "bad choices" finds Bean sent outside, she sees pal Ivy standing with outstretched arms. Why? Inspired by an image of St. Francis, she is trying to be "pure of heart" in the hopes of luring birds and maybe even a wolf. When standing still and thinking nice thoughts doesn't do the trick, though, the two hatch a scheme bound to succeed: Bean will be as bad as she can be, and Ivy will reform her. Readers familiar with the redoubtable pair ( Ivy + Bean Take Care of the Babysitter , 2008, etc.) will not be surprised to find that the plan gets off to a bumpy start (when Bean screams "BRA!" killjoy Dino just declares it "boring," not bad) but then moves thrillingly into unimagined, escalating realms of badness. Barrows and Blackall deliver another laugh-out-loud Pancake Court romp that derives its humor from the very believable characters and chemistry of the neighborhood children. Any child who's had to suffer a time-out will relate to this one. (Fiction. 6-10)