Ivy and Bean

Bean and Ivy are reluctant to become friends due to their unfavorable judgments of one another. The story explicitly highlights Bean’s negative perception of Ivy, and it alludes to Ivy’s disapproving evaluation of Bean. Each girl has a mother who wants them to be friends based on the belief that they’re both “nice girls.” The label leads each girl to conclude that the other is boring. As Bean quips, “All aboard! Next train for Boring is leaving now!" (11). Ivy’s style and behavior reinforce Bean’s unfavorable, judgmental opinion of her. Ivy wears dresses and reads books. Bean assumes that Ivy abides by dominant social norms for girls and would rather sit still reading big books than play outside and go on a physical adventure.

Once the girls get to know each other, they realize they’re not different. The girls announce their similarities when they point out that neither is nice. Bean states, “[Y]ou're not nice at all! You're a witch!” and Ivy replies, “You're not very nice either. You were doing that ghost thing in the bush” (49). The girls didn’t have high opinions of each other because they thought each other was nice.