Annie Barrows - Ivy + Bean Bundle, Books 4-6

Book 4

For Liz and Morgan, babysitter and babysat A. B.
For Callum and Harrison S. B.

Book 5

To Sally, who is nothing like Nancy. A. B.
For Sarah, Angus, and Anna, who are never, ever bad. S. B.

Book 6

For Esme and Megan, friends from the beginning A. B.
For the other Ivy and her brother Moss S. B.

Text 2008 by Annie Barrows.
Illustrations 2008 by Sophie Blackall.
All rights reserved.

Band-Aid is a registered trademark of Johnson & Johnson.
Butterfinger is a registered trademark of Societe des Produits Nestle S.A.
M&Ms is a registered trademark of Mars, Inc.
Milk Duds is a registered trademark of The Hershey Company
Tootsie Roll is a registered trademark of Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc.

The illustrations in this book were rendered in Chinese ink.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available
eISBN: 978-1-4521-1342-5

Chronicle Books LLC
680 Second Street, San Francisco, California 94107

www.chroniclekids.com

Thwack!

Bean was grinding corn. She put a few pieces of Indian corn on the sidewalk and then smacked a rock down on top of them. Thwack! It hardly dented them, but that was okay. That was part of the fun. You had to pound for a long time. Thwack!

What are you doing? It was her sister, Nancy, standing on the porch.

Grinding corn. Thwack! Bean looked at her corn. It was dented now. You can do some, too, if you want. Ive got lots of corn.

Nancy watched her pound. Whats it for?

Food, said Bean. Im making cornbread. Thwack! Hey, look! Corn dust!

Nancy almost came to look. She even took a step down the stairs. But then she got a prissy look on her face and said, Like Moms going to let you eat stuff thats been on the sidewalk. Dream on.

Bean could have thrown the rock at her, but she knew better than that. Bean was seven. Nancy was eleven. Bean knew how to drive Nancy nutso without getting into trouble herself. She began to moan loudly, Grind or starve! Winters coming! If we dont grind corn, well have to eat rocks!

Cut it out, Bean! hissed Nancy. Everyone will see you!

Nancy was always worried that everyone would see her. Bean wanted everyone to see her. She lay down on the sidewalk and rolled from side to side, moaning, Just a little corn dust, thats all I ask!

The front door slammed. Nancy had gone inside. That was easy.

Bean lay on the sidewalk, resting. The sun was warm. She loved Saturdays.

Weve got dirt at my house, said a voice above her.

It was Sophie W. from down the street.

What kind of dirt? asked Bean.

Sophie smiled. Both her front teeth were out, and she had filled the hole with gum. A lot of dirt.

That sounded interesting. Bean jumped up and grabbed her bag of corn. Together, she and Sophie hurried around Pancake Court.

Usually Sophie W.s house looked a lot like all the other houses on Pancake Court, but today it looked different. Today, there was an enormous mound of dirt in the front yard. A monster mound. It was as high as the front porch. Maybe even higher. It spread across most of the lawn, all the way to the path. The dirt was dark brown, the kind of dirt that smells good and is already halfway to mud.

Wow. Your parents actually gave you dirt? asked Bean.

Sort of, Sophie said. Theyre going to use it in the backyard, but not until next week.

We can play on it? asked Bean. It was too good to be true. Its okay with your mom?

Sophie W. looked at her front door and giggled. My moms not home! Theres a babysitter in there!

Bean stared at the mound. They wouldnt put it out in the front yard if they didnt want people to use it, she thought. Shouldnt we ask the babysitter? she said.

Just at that moment, a teenage girl stuck her head out the front door. She was the babysitter. Oh, she said to Sophie. There you are.

Is it okay if we play with this dirt? asked Bean politely.

The teenager looked at the mound like she had never seen it before. I guess. Um. Dont track it into the house.

No problem, said Bean. We dont even want to go in the house.

The babysitter nodded and turned to Sophie. I guess Ill be watching TV, okay?

Sure, said Sophie. She and Bean waited until the teenager was inside. Then Sophie turned to Bean. What should we play?

Play? said Bean. We havent got time to play! This volcanos about to blow!

Ivy wouldnt want to miss out on a volcano, that was for sure. Bean zipped up the street to Ivys house and rang the doorbell. But that was too slow. Hey! she yelled through the mail slot. Theres a volcano at Sophie W.s!

A what? said Ivy, opening the door. Ivy was reading. She was reading a really big book with long words even on the cover, which was something Bean couldnt stand. It was bad enough when there were big words inside the book.

A volcano! Bean yelled. Come on!

Ivy looked at her book.

Bean rolled her eyes. Ivy! Its a natural disaster! You have to be there!

Okay, said Ivy. She put down her book. Its a good book, though.

You are so weird sometimes, said Bean. Come on!

The two girls ran back to Sophies house. Leo was there now, and Sophie S. and Prairie and Prairies little brother, Isaiah.

When she got to the front yard, Bean fell onto the grass. Earthquake! she hollered. Volcanoes made the earth shake, too. Volcanoes and earthquakes were like disaster twins.

Ivy grabbed a bush and shook it back and forth to show that the earth was quaking. Sophie W. and Prairie pretended they were being crushed by falling buildings. Leo pretended his car blew up, which was a little strange, but he said it happened all the time during earthquakes.

Smoke! screeched Bean, pretending to be terrified. She pointed to the dirt mountain. Shes going to blow!

They all stopped what they were doing and looked at the mound of dirt.

It would be better if we had real smoke, said Sophie S.

It would be better if we had real lava, said Bean.