New Kid

Written & Illustrated by: Jerry Craft

Genre: realistic fiction, graphic novel

Awards: Newbery Winner 2020

               Coretta Scott King Author Award 2020

               #1 New York Times Bestseller

              Kirkus Prize for Young Readers' Literature 2019

Summary:

Jordan Banks is a seventh-grader who loves drawing. Though he wants to attend art school, his parents send him to the prestigious Riverdale Academy Day School. Here, Jordan is one of few kids of color and struggles to fit in with the other students. His new school also causes issues with his friends from the neighborhood, furthering his confusion. Jordan takes a variety of classes, gets involved, in some sports, and of course continues to draw. He deals with racial stereotypes and a bully, along with the common struggles of school. Along the way, Jordan finds friends whom he can relate to and learns more about himself and life. 

Teacher Evaluation:

I would use this book for a sixth-grade class and add it to my classroom library for a secondary classroom. I would use this for a book discussion while reading. We would split the book in half and do two Socratic seminars. Students would create seven discussion questions (one for each chapter in the half) and present them to their peers. While reading, I will ask students to keep track of themes that stand out to them. At the end of the book, students will create a comic strip using one of the themes they noticed. Students will present their comic strips and explain their chosen theme in detail, using evidence from the book to support their themes.