Author
Illustrator
“I make the books I wish I had when I was a kid.”
New York Times Bestseller
Praise & Awards for New Kid
New York Times Bestseller
Winner of the 2019 Kirkus Prize for Young Readers’ Literature
San Francisco Chronicle Bestseller
Indie Bestseller for Early & Middle Grade Readers
One of Publishers Weekly’s Best Middle Grade Books of 2019
New England Independent Booksellers Association Best Children’s Book of 2019
New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association 2019 Book of the Year for Middle Readers
Top 10 Spring 2019 Indie Next List Pick
Amazon Best Book of the Month, Ages 9-12
2019 Harvey Award for Best Children’s Book Nominee
One of Booklist’s 2019 Top 10 Diverse Fiction for Youth
One of Publishers Weekly’s Most Anticipated Children’s Books, Spring 2019
#1 Indie Comics & Graphic Works Bestseller
About the Book
Perfect for fans of Raina Telgemeier and Gene Luen Yang, New Kid is a timely, honest novel about starting over at a new school where diversity is low and the struggle to fit in is real, from award-winning author-illustrator Jerry Craft.
Seventh grader Jordan Banks loves nothing more than drawing cartoons about his life. But instead of sending him to the art school of his dreams, his parents enroll him in a prestigious private school known for its academics, where Jordan is one of the few kids of color in his entire grade.
As he makes the daily trip from his Washington Heights apartment to the upscale Riverdale Academy Day School, Jordan soon finds himself torn between two worlds—and not really fitting into either one. Can Jordan learn to navigate his new school culture while keeping his neighborhood friends and staying true to himself?
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Praise for New Kid
“Funny, sharp, and totally real! Jordan Banks is the kid everyone will be talking about!”
Jeff Kinney, Author of Diary of a Wimpy Kid
“New Kid is at once tender and tough, funny and heartbreaking. Hand this to the middle-grade reader in your life right away.”
The New York Times Book Review
“Possibly one of the most important graphic novels of the year.”
Booklist (starred review)
“An engrossing, humorous, and vitally important graphic novel that should be required reading in every middle school in America.”
Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“This is more than a story about being the new kid—it’s a complex examination of the micro- and macroaggressions that Jordan endures from classmates and teachers. Highly recommended for all middle grade shelves.”
School Library Journal (starred review)
“This engaging story offers an authentic secondary cast and captures the high jinks of middle schoolers and the tensions that come with being a person of color in a traditionally white space.”
Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Meet Jerry Craft
Meet Connecticut-based children’s book author and illustrator Jerry Craft. Mr. Craft explains how his identity as an African American man influences his work, and how he hopes young readers are affected by his books.