Three movies based on Annie Barrows and Sophie Blackall’s popular Ivy + Bean children’s book series will premiere on Netflix next month, publisher Chronicle Books announced in a news release.
Actors Keslee Blalock and Madison Skye Validum will play Ivy and Bean, respectively. The two characters are young girls who become friends despite radical differences in their personalities.
Author Barrows and illustrator Blackall’s series debuted in 2006 with Ivy + Bean, which a critic for Kirkus called “a fresh take on the standard odd-couple tale of friendship.” The 12th and final book in the series, Ivy + Bean Get to Work!, was published in 2021.
The movies will also star Jane Lynch (Glee), Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding), Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family), and Sasha Pieterse (Pretty Little Liars). Jeff Stockwell (A Wrinkle in Time) and Kathy Waugh are writing the adaptations, with Elissa Down (Feel the Beat) directing.
The three films scheduled for release are Ivy + Bean, Ivy + Bean: The Ghost That Had To Go, and Ivy + Bean: Doomed to Dance. Barrows announced the films on Instagram, writing, “Oooh look! Ivy and Bean are movie stars! Three Ivy & Bean movies are coming to Netflix on September 2. Which is REALLY SOON.”
Michael Schaub, a journalist and regular contributor to NPR, lives near Austin, Texas.
