New Kid by Jerry Craft
The Hook:
7th grader, Jordan, is not only the new kid, but he’s also one of the few kids of color in his entire grade. Jordan loves nothing more than drawing cartoons. But instead of sending him to art school which is his dream, his parents enroll him in a prestigious private school known for its academics, math, science, and writing—not art.
His new school, Riverdale Academy, is located on the opposite side of Manhattan. It’s feels like a different world where the color pink is called salmon, white administrators mistake an African American teacher as a football coach, and white classmates try to talk black to make themselves sound cool. It’s a lot of awkward moments as Jordan navigates his way around this new school culture while keeping his neighborhood friends and staying true to himself. You gotta check out New Kid by Jerry Craft.
This book is a graphic novel. We have several copies in our library. It is also in Sora and Axis 360 as an ebook. It is worth 2 AR points.
My Thoughts (Careful! There Might Be Spoilers):
This honest and relatable story is about race. There are several examples of casual assumptions that many people make about people of color. Assuming the only Black teacher at the school is a coach, not being able to tell the only 2 Black students apart from each other, well-intentioned teachers stumbling over the mispronunciation of names, and even Black students comparing skin tone just to name a few. But Jordan learns that everyone has a burden to bear and he can’t fall back on his own assumptions either.
Unfortunately, there has been a lot of talk in Texas about this author and this book. However, this book is a very honest examination of many people’s experiences. Books are an excellent way to open our eyes and help us understand each other. This book does a great job of that. I would highly recommend this book. I give it 4.7 stars.
Recommendations:
I recommend this book for 4th-8th grade students, especially reluctant readers due to it being a graphic novel. It won the Caldecott Award as well as the Coretta Scott King Author Award.
