Lone Bean

June 11, 2012
Eight-year-old Chrysanthemum "Bean" Gibson has high hopes for the first day of third grade, but she has an at-home meltdown after things go wrong. The star of Ross's debut expects tons of school-year fun, never dreaming that she'd be dealing with the changed loyalties of her best friend, a class bully, and her father's demand that she learn to play a musical instrument. As the story meanders along, Bean sorts through her problems and misunderstandings with help from supportive parents, occasionally â¨"m-e-a-n MEAN" older sisters, some unexpected new palsâand only a few episodes of "twisty-turny feelings in tummy." Ross, the youngest daughter of singer Diana Ross and the owner of the California children's bookstore Books and Cookies, creates a relatable protagonist with gumption, whose insights into others' feelings make her an empathetic friend ("Now I know Tanisha is a meany and a bully, but something in my insides makes me feel bad. I mean, she has no friends, and no sisters and no ice cream"). Things wrap up neatly, leaving the door open for further tales. Ages 8â12. Agent: Frank Weimann, the Literary Group.

April 15, 2012
A spunky young character takes a complicated path to find her place in school, but she stumbles along the way. Unfortunately, so does the author. With her debut effort, Ross brings readers Chrysanthemum, better known as Bean. It's the start of the school year, and Bean can't wait to see her best friend Carla and get third grade started. But almost immediately, Bean discovers that nothing is as she'd imagined. Most significantly, Carla no longer wants to be friends. The story conveys Bean's struggle to find her place in her family with sisters Rose and Gardenia and at school, facing down the class's biggest bully, Tanisha. It's obvious that Ross cares about her character and her struggles. But the book moves slowly, and at 197 pages it feels much too long for kids Bean's age. Those children comfortable with length and reading level may well not be interested in reading about a third-grader. Inconsistent language is jarring, making Bean feel like a girl anywhere from 6 to 16. Not to mention, Bean's epiphany will leave kids with wrinkled foreheads, asking, "Huh?" In the end, the book fails to deliver a story that stands out or characters who stand apart. (Fiction. 8-12)

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