Read this when
New Kid
When your teacher calls you the other Black kid's name. Again. 🙃 New Kid gets it, and it's funny about it too.
Who it's for
New Kid puts readers inside the everyday experience of being one of the few Black students at an elite, mostly white school, where the harm comes less from open cruelty than from a steady stream of assumptions, mix-ups and 'jokes'.
Feelings it meets
What it is
A middle-grade graphic novel by Jerry Craft, published by HarperCollins in 2019. Twelve-year-old Jordan Banks, who lives in Washington Heights and loves to draw, starts at Riverdale Academy Day, an elite, predominantly white private school.
Where to find it
In print (HarperCollins/Quill Tree) and widely held by school and public libraries; often on Libby/Hoopla. An audio edition exists; check your library.
Before you start
Heads up: Everyday racism and bullying.
Age: Ages 9+
I know why the caged bird sings, ah me,Paul Laurence Dunbar, “Sympathy”
