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NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWSby annie barrows + sophie blackall

I y and Bean EVENT KITNO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS

IVY AND BEAN—the two friends from Annie Barrows’s Ivy and Bean series—are back for

another nutty adventure in No News Is Good News.

This time, Ivy and Bean are desperate to earn money. What do they want money for? To buy cheese!

Not just any cheese, but super-cool little cheese rounds coated in nifty red wax that can be squished.

Who wouldn’t want that? But how to get the money? Solution! Borrowing an idea from Bean’s father,

they sell one-dollar subscriptions to a neighborhood newspaper they plan to write. As usual, the girls

plunge in without a plan and stir up a lively commotion before landing on their feet with new knowl-

edge of journalism, new confidence in their entrepreneurial ability, and enough money to purchase the

coveted Belldeloon cheese with its wax coating!

Host an I y and Bean Party INVITE your young readers to an Ivy and Bean Party! When they arrive on the day of the event, start by reading the first chapter

of No News Is Good News aloud. Then, ask children how many of them have read other titles in the Ivy and Bean series. If your

attendees are familiar with other titles, ask them whether they remember the problems the girls faced at the beginning of the

other books they have read.

FIRST, read the scene on pages 36-39 in the “Breaking the News” chapter, in which Bean’s dad relates his childhood newspaper

money-making enterprise and explain that Ivy and Bean borrow his idea then begin the party by inviting each child to make a

party hat out of newspaper, embellished with stickers, ribbons, and other supplies!

ONCE the hat-making is complete, choose any of the activities listed

on the following pages to make the party complete:

• INVESTIGATIVE REPORTERS• THE PERFECT SNACK• IVY AND BEAN IN DISGUISE• MODELING WAX CREATIONS

• FIND THE STORY• CROSSWORD PUZZLE • WORD FIND

Hello Booksellers and Librarians!

BEFORE your guests head home with their party hats, wax creations and

a copy of No News is Good News, you may want to serve one of Ivy and

Bean’s favorite snacks—graham crackers (and, if your budget allows, indi-

vidual wax-wrapped cheese).

HAVE FUN!

Created by: Toni Buzzeo, MA, MLIS www.tonibuzzeo.com

Ms. Toni Buzzeo, a certified school librarian, is the author of

fourteen picture books for children and eleven professional

books for librarians and educators.

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IT’S IVY AND BEAN DAY!Learn the Five W’s and One H of a good news story – and a great party!

You, your friends, and Ivy and Bean fans!

Activities, Games, Prizes and Give-Aways

To celebrate the launch of Ivy and Bean: No News is Good News

With awesomeness and fun!

WHO:

WHAT:

WHEN:

WHERE:

WHY:

HOW:

No News is Good News but this News is GREAT News!

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NEWSPAPER PARTY HATS

Sassy Chapeau: Pair the kids into teams of two or more so they can help each other make these stylish hats.

Sailor Style:

Give each child several double sheets of newspaper

Have one child place the paper on top of her head. Her partner should fan out out

the sheets in different directions then form the crown of the hat, using her hands to

gather the paper; all the way around, at eyebrow level.

Wrap the base of the crown with two layers of masking tape.

Remove the hat from the child’s head and use scissors to shape the brim. Roll the

edges to make a floppy bonnet, then decorate.

Fold the paper (or the 1/2 sheet of newspaper) in half.

Fold down each side to make triangles.

Fold one bottom flap up.

Flip the hat over and fold the other bottom flap up.

(add a bit of scotch tape if you like)

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Supplies:• Newspaper• Ribbon• Stickers• Markers or crayons• Faux flowers, feathers and other embellishments• Scissors• Tape

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Pressman’s Hat: These snazzy lids actually are really still worn by the folks who run printing presses. The folds can be a little complicated, so practice first and lead the kids through the steps.

Start with a (doubled) sheet of newspaper. Position fold at top.

Fold up corners.

Fold corners inward until they meet in center.

Fold up bottom creating a flap.

Fold first sheet of bottom half up, until it meets the bottom of edge of the folded corners.

Fold flap in half lengthwise and tuck behind band.

Then fold up the same way again.

Fold top point down and tuck in behind band.

Flip over.

Fold outside edges in, so they meet the center. Spread open center with your thumbs and flip!

Slowly pull apart the bottom on the front and back, opening up the hat. Then carefully flatten it.

Fold in corners and tuck behind bands.

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Check out this Expert Village video for more ideas: http://www.youtube.com/user/expertvillage.

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MODELING WAX CREATIONS INVESTIGATIVE REPORTERS

IVY + BEAN IN DISGUISE

THE PERFECT SNACK

Supplies:(Printable activity sheet follows)

• Picture of Ivy and Bean• Red pencil, marker or crayon for each child

The kids at the lunch table use the wax from their Belledeloon cheese to make unicorn horns, fake

blood and other kooky disguises

Invite the kids to draw disguises on the printed pic-tures of Ivy and Bean.

One thing Ivy and Bean love is a snack! Before serv-ing your graham cracker snack, read a few of the snack scenes from No News Is Good News (see pages 13-14, 18, and 34) and invite your guests to draw their perfect snack, reminding them that they can be as creative and messy as Ivy and Bean—and maybe even a bit wilder!

Supplies:(Choose the supplies that work for your budget and location.)

• Modeling wax• Silly Putty• Crayola Model Magic• Wikki Stix

What Ivy and Bean don’t know is that buying a bag

of Belldeloon cheese is not the only way to acquire modeling wax. Sheets of craft wax are available online from Stockmar. The warmth of the modeler’s hands warms the wax enough to manipulate it. Cooled wax retains the shape that children have molded.

Supply attendees with modeling wax and invite them to create a variety of disguise elements. If time allows, ask them to mold a mythical or real animal from the wax, and stage a wax museum.

Supplies:(Printable activity sheet follows)

• Reporter’s Notebooks• Pencils for each reporter

Create a list of assignments for your young reporters:

Hand each child a reporter’s notebook and a pencil and give them 10 minutes to complete their assign-ment. Have each child/group share what they found.

Interview a staff member and ask them:

• What is your name?• How long have you worked here?• What is your favorite book?• What’s the craziest book you’ve ever sold/checked

Pair the kids into groups and have them interview each other.

Read the community Bulletin Board and have the kids report on events.

• Which looks like the most fun?• Which is the most boring?• Who is the weirdest-looking person on the board?

Investigate the bathroom!

• Is it clean?• Do the stalls have enough toilet paper?• Does it smell weird?

Survey the parking lot (accompanied by an adult, of course).

• What’s the best-looking car?• Which car did a bad parking job?• What’s the funniest bumper sticker?

Sneak and Snoop! What can you find out about someone by watching them for 5 minutes?

• What kind of books do they like?• Do they have kids?• Are they young or old?• Do they dress well or look sloppy?• Are they in a hurry?

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GET THE STORY!Bean’s Dad tells the girls to go out and “get the story.” Your cub re-porters can do the same! Cut the attached story into strips and hide them in (pretty obvious) places for the kids to find. Once they’ve been found, put them together and read out loud.

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Ivy and Bean love wax.

Who doesn’t?

Do you know where wax comes from?

Sure, it comes from bees.

But it also comes from other animals, like sheep.

You squeeze the sheep really hard, and wax comes out.

Just kidding! Really, there’s waxy stuff in sheeps’ wool.

There are plants that make wax, too.

And guess what! You make wax, too! Inside your ears!

Unfortunately, you don’t make enough of it to play with.

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CROSSWORD PUZZLE By Toni Buzzeo

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ACROSSBean’s best friend’s name.

The color of the wax around the

Belldeloon cheese.

The word that is repeated three times

in the title of the first chapter.

Ivy and Bean plan to sell subscriptions

to this to earn money.

Ivy’s best friend’s name.

DOWNThe real name for what Eric calls

a one-eye.

Bean says “Another day, another .”

The food that comes wrapped in wax

do Ivy and Bean want.

What Ivy and bean eat every day

after school.

The coating around the cheese that

all of the kids play with.

NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS

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WORD FINDBy Toni Buzzeo

NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS

BEAN

CHEESE

IVY

NEWSPAPER

UNICORN

BELLDELOON

DISGUISE

LUNCHBOX

SUBSCRIPTION

WAX

snldpBoe

rabieInB

oucheese

ueuiuonl

iposisee

niBsauel

bwnsolpo

pexeniel

Itennixo

sscgilae

trrcdcol

vwaxceio

cphuhcal

iciswbod

yunicorn