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Naturally you know what tomorrow is.

You don’t?  Doggone calendars.  You’d think they’d have the wherewithal to remember that October 21st is Ivy & Bean Day.  And now here’s the interesting part.  You heard it here first, folks, but Ivy & Bean are going to have . . .  AN ELEVENTH BOOK!!

Don’t believe me?  Hear it from Ms. Annie Barrows herself:

When I finished Ivy and Bean Take the Case, the tenth book in the series, I figured it was time to take a break from my girls. Why? Because ten books are a lot. Ten books are bigger than my head. Ten books are really heavy. Ten books are enough. Besides, I was writing a novel for grownups. I was busy.

When my novel came out and I toured for it, I couldn’t help noticing that grownup audiences are incredibly well-behaved.  No one falls out of her chair. No one pulls his neighbor’s hair. No one cries. No one has to go to the bathroom right now. No one asks me how old I am. But also: no one asks me what my favorite color is. No one wants to hear interesting facts about being eaten by squids. No one laughs so hard she has to go to the bathroom right now.

I missed kids.

One day when I was sick of the thing I was supposed to be working on, I wrote a scene about Ivy and Bean and one of those weird dolls that’s supposed to look like a real baby. I laughed and put it away.  A little while later, I wrote another scene, about quicksand this time. I laughed some more.  Eventually, it occurred to me that

(a)    I was having fun

(b)   I missed little kids

(c)    A lot of readers wanted another Ivy and Bean book

(d)   Why didn’t I just go ahead and write one?

So I did.

Sophie Blackall had her own two cents to add.

The number one question I get asked in school visits is, ‘WHEN will there be a new Ivy and Bean???’ For years, I have left behind a trail of frustrated second graders, shaking their collective fists. Finally I’ll be able to hold my head high and say, ‘Soon, my friends. SOON.’ You have no idea what a relief this will be. Plus I get to work with Annie and Victoria again. Which is so much fun it isn’t really work at all.

In the meantime, Ivy and Bean haven’t just been lying around eating candy. They are hard at work advocating for vaccination against measles and will be appearing in a hilarious (and informative) comic book, in association with The American Academy of Pediatrics and The Measles and Rubella Initiative. 375,000 copies of the books, Ivy and Bean vs. The Measles will be distributed to doctors’ offices across the country this Fall in English and Spanish language editions!

This is, insofar as I can tell, big news.  I have never, ever seen a publisher with the guts to take on immunization.  I mean, check out these posters:

So there you have it folks.  A new Ivy & Bean on the horizon and a very worthy cause.  Not too shabby for a Friday, eh?