Zelda and Ivy: The Big Picture

Secret Agent Fox is playing at Zelda and Ivy's local movie theater, and Ivy is worried that it will be too scary. Big sister Zelda reassures her. "It's not real, it's just a movie." Little does Zelda know that she, not Ivy nor their friend Eugene, will be the one terrified. She spends most of her time ducking behind the seat in front of her, pretending to search for a lost object. When the movie is over, Eugene and Ivy are eager to see it again. Not Zelda. Saving face, she informs the others that the movie wasn't "scary enough" for her.

Two more chapters complete this early reader (number six in the series) by Theodor Geisel Award winner Laura McGee Kvasnosky. In "Secret Agents" the trio decide to spy on their neighbor Mrs. Brownlie, mainly because she is wearing goggles while mowing her lawn. Mrs. Brownlie soon discovers the secret agents and invites them inside for chocolate chip cookies. While chowing down, the spies learn the reason for the goggles--they protect her eyes as she mows. Case closed.

The final chapter sees the three foxes preparing for a campout. When rain nixes their fun, Zelda has a plan. Why not camp indoors? Even though Zelda tacks stars to the ceiling and they eat dinner from a cooler and roast marshmallows in the fireplace, Ivy finds the experience falls short compared to camping outdoors. Snuggled inside her sleeping bag, she stares at the fake stars above. One becomes unglued and floats down. A falling star! The camp-in is a success!

Zelda and Ivy: The Big Picture
by Laura McGee Kvasnosky
Candlewick Press, 48 pages
Published: September 2010