Ivy and Bean

Ivy takes out the spell book that she got from her aunt. As spells are secrets that only witches can know, Bean gives Ivy privacy, and Ivy quietly recites the dancing spell to herself. The spell requires worms, and plenty of worms reside in Bean’s backyard. Since Bean is still hiding from her family, Bean and Ivy must enter Bean’s backyard by traversing the other backyards on Pancake Court.

Ivy puts the spell book in her backpack, and Bean carries the wand in her pocket. Bean teaches Ivy to climb a fence, and they go through Ruby and Trevor’s backyard, where there’s a noteworthy sandbox. The next backyard is the “gross dog-poopy yard” (74), and though the girls are careful, Ivy steps in some of the excrement. The next backyard belongs to Jake the Teenager, and it contains a garage and loud music with vulgar words.

When the girls enter Mrs. Trantz's immaculate backyard, the older woman yells at Ivy and Bean for breaching her garden. Ivy apologizes, but Mrs. Trantz rejects it: If Bean was truly sorry, she’d stop entering Mrs. Trantz’s garden. After Mrs. Trantz threatens to call Bean’s mother, Ivy burps and pretends like she has to vomit, causing Mrs.