Ivy & Bean

I mentioned last week that I had bought a book on the Solar System for Madeleine at Julia's school book fair.  Both girls have been enjoying learning more about the versery, but Julia has been enjoying the books that she bought at the book fair even more.  She had taken money from her piggy bank especially to purchase her very own books, and she wound up choosing two books from the "Ivy & Bean" series. I had read the first book of the series to the girls while we were in Atlanta in April, and ever since, Julia has been itching to get another of the remaining eight books we have not yet read.

Julia is now deep into the thick of a new Ivy & Bean book:

What's most exciting of all is that she is reading it herself.  She has covered the first four or five chapters all on her own, and in her typical fashion of becoming obsessed with whatever movie or book she is currently into, she's now in a huge Ivy & Bean phase.  So much so that today she created this:

Ivy & Bean: We fond a marmade

Now, this may look like a typical cover of one of Julia's hand-written books, but I assure you, it's actually something even MORE grandiose.  This is the announcement for the upcoming Ivy & Bean Puppet Show that Julia and Madeleine are putting on this afternoon.

This is a WHOLE new ballgame here, folks.  Yes, indeed, the girls made puppets this morning, in preparation of this afternoon's big production.

Here is the marmade that Ivy & Bean fond, hand-crafted by Julia

Julia also made Ivy and Ivy's mother:

Meanwhile, Madeleine was hard at work making her own puppets, constantly asking my creative advice and then disregarding anything I suggested.

MADELEINE: Uh, Mama, what color hair should Bean's mommy have?
ME: Um, maybe black?
MADELEINE: Well Mama.  How about BROWN.

MADELEINE: Mama?  What kind of DRESS should Bean's mommy have?
ME: How about...a...short-sleeved dress?
MADELEINE: Uh, Mama, no, how about a LONG-SLEEVED dress.

And so forth.

At any rate, after many imperfect false starts, Madeleine finally produced her puppets:

On the right: Bean
On the left: Bean's mother, who is apparently a giant.

After Julia got home from school, the girls set up the puppet stage and I was the lucky one-woman audience.  I video-recorded the first scene of the puppet show, and let me tell you: It. Is. RIVETING.  Get ready for an action-packed adventure in which Ivy and Bean fond a marmade at the beach and then invite her for dinner at Cafe Sol Azteca, complete with puppets facing their back-popsicle-stick sides towards the audience and Madeleine having off-stage conversations between her puppet characters:



Things got EVEN MORE exciting once the dolphin formerly known as Lamby made an appearance in the puppet show:

The dolphin, now known as Emmy (NOT to be confused with Emily, which is the name of the marmade) was a crucial factor in saving the day for Ivy and Bean, who decided to NOT run away and join the marmade in the ocean after Emmy showed up.  I'm not really sure *WHY* they decided not to run away upon the dolphin's appearance.  I tried to ask the puppeteers.

ME: So why did Ivy and Bean decide not to run away?
JULIA: I dunno.  I guess because maybe there was too much RAMBUNCTIOUSNESS going on all around them that they decided to STAY.

Got it.

Take my word for it: this puppet show is a MUST-SEE.  Once tickets open up to the general public, I will let you know!