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Sunday, March 15, 2020

New Kid by Jerry Craft


Graphic Novels Win Awards



New Kid is the first graphic novel to win the gold Newbery medal.  A few have been honor books in the past but this is the year that a graphic novel took top honors. It also won the Coretta Scott King Author Award and the Kirkus Prize for Young Readers' Literature. Not only that, but it was named Audible book of the year.  I noticed that it takes about 2 hours to listen to the audio version of this book.  They have a full cast of readers and music and I am really curious to see if you can only listen and get all the nuances of the plot. Otherwise, this would be a great book to listen to while looking at the graphics. 

The story is about a seventh-grader named Jordan Banks who is enrolled in a fancy private school and finds that he is one of only a few kids of color. His family isn't wealthy and he lives in an apartment in a not as affluent area of the city. Jordan is finding it difficult to fit in and uses his artist sketchbook to convey his feelings. He is talented at art and is hoping to someday go to a high school for the arts. 

This funny and yet thought-provoking story should be a hit with middle school kids. It is very current and full of pop-culture. It is a humorous school story.  I really liked it and give it a 4 out of 4 rating. 


  • Age Range: 8 - 12 years
  • Grade Level: 3 - 7
  • Hardcover: 256 pages
  • Publisher: Quill Tree Books (February 5, 2019)



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