Ivy and Bean Break the Fossil Record Read Online Free PDF

regret any inconvenience.”
    There was a silence. Ivy and Bean looked down at the kids standing around the trampoline. They looked back. Finally, the skinny first-grader said, “Can I touch The Bones of Mystery?”

    “You may,” said Bean, feeling like a queen. Kids quickly clustered around the bones, inspecting them and fingering their dirty dryness.
    Then Bean’s dad spoke up. “I have an announcement, too,” he said. “Banana bread will be served in just a moment. Guests are invited to jump on the trampoline in the meantime.”
    “Cool!” said Dusit, dropping his bone. “Lemme up there!”
    “Me, too!” yelled Emma. “I bet I can do a flip.”
    “So can I,” said Zuzu.
    There was a rush for the trampoline. Ivy and Bean climbed down to let the others up. Vanessa stood nearby. “I told you they weren’t dinosaur bones,” she said.
    Bean sucked in her breath. She knew what she had to say. “You were right, and we were wrong,” she said. “Probably.”
    “I think it’s pretty exciting to find a creature that’s never before been seen,” said Ivy. “Especially a saber-toothed one.”
    “Have some banana bread,” said Bean’s dad, coming up to them with a plate piled high.
    “Thanks,” said Vanessa. She took two pieces.
    Leo was poking the bones with his foot. “Bones of Mystery,” he said. “You guys are wacko.”
    Ivy and Bean looked at each other. “That’s what they said about Mary Anning.”

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER RECORD
    The banana bread ran out quickly, but nobody left. Kids were digging and jumping and running around. The first-graders were spraying the hose into Bean’s hole. The moms were standing in a circle, chatting.
    Bean found her dad sitting on the stairs. “Will you go get your camera?” she asked. “Please?”
    He put his arm around her. “Why?”
    “I think I’m breaking a record,” Bean said.
    “Oh yeah? What record?”
    “Biggest playdate ever. Come on, go get the camera. You have to have proof.” Bean gave him a shove.
    “Okay, okay.” He got up and went inside.
    Ivy climbed the stairs and sat next to her. “I’m still bummed that they aren’t dinosaur bones,” she said.
    “Yeah,” Bean said. She was still bummed, too. She had really wanted to be the youngest paleontologist in the world. She looked out over the backyard full of kids. Maybe it wasn’t going to be the biggest playdate in the world, either. She should probably have a backup.
    “I think I should try to break glass by screaming again. A wine glass. Not an animal.”
    Ivy nodded. “A wine glass would be easier.”
    “I’m going to do it. Tomorrow.”
    Bean’s dad came back out on the porchwith the camera. “What are you going to do tomorrow?” he asked.
    Bean and Ivy smiled at each other. “Never mind,” said Bean.

IVY + BEAN
    BOOK 4

SNEAK PREVIEW OF IVY & BEAN TAKE CARE OF THE BABYSITTER
BOOK 4 (COMING SOON!)
    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 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. I’ve got lots of corn.”
    Nancy watched her pound. “What’s it for?”
    “Food,” said Bean. “I’m making corn-bread.” 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 Mom’s going to let you eat stuff that’s 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 crazy without getting into trouble herself. She began to yell, “Winter’s coming! If we don’t grind corn, we’ll have to eat rocks!”
    “Cut it out,