Wheaton, Kansas, seventh-grader Tucker MacBean loves comic books, so when his favorite comic has a contest to create a sidekick, he is hopeful that he can win, thereby fixing his struggling family.

"This sequel to The Adventures of Beanboy combines comic illustrations, a small-town bully facing off against a budding artist, and a rousing, decisive game of dodge ball"--

The Jelly Bean Boy is an engaging picture book for very young children, or children just beginning to read with the help of an adult. With lively depictions of location and action, the book introduces the adventures of Jelly Bean Boy and Crocodile, who begin their lives on a birthday cake...! (Approximately 300 words.)

Kirby Nickel loves basketball. The only problem is he can't play basketball. But when an opportunity to meet NBA star Brett McGrew comes up, Kirby knows he has to take a chance and try out for the basketball team. Getting on the team turns out to be easy—the rest of the boys are as supremely untalented as Kirby—but winning in order to be eligible to meet McGrew is a whole different problem. Different and embarrassing. The coach's radical new plan for success involves the boys playing in their underwear. But if this crazy idea works, Kirby will get to meet his hero—who he secretly also hopes is his long-lost father.

When Tucker MacBean's favorite comic has a contest for kids to create the hero's new sidekick, he hopes he has found a way to help his mother and fix his family -- all he has to do is create the winning supercomic.