When seven-year-old Bean plays a mean trick on her sister, she finds unexpected support for her antics from Ivy, the new neighbor, who is less boring than Bean first suspected.

Best friends Ivy and Bean learn that being very good, or very bad, can be a real challenge when they set out to become like a man Ivy heard about who was so pure of heart that birds and animals followed him.

When all the second grade students must enter the science fair, which has global warming as its theme, best friends Ivy and Bean team up to create an unusual project.

Seven-year-old Bean is too young to go to the camp her sister Nancy is attending, so she and her best friend Ivy decide to create their own camp.

When classmate Vanessa insists that all single children are spoiled, Ivy wonders whether she can become "unspoiled" by giving away all her clothes at school (which does not go over well with her teacher or parents)--but ultimately decides that all she needs to accomplish her goal is a little sister.