New Kid by Jerry Craft

Craft, J. (2019). New kid. (J. Craft, Illus.) Quill Tree Books.

New Kid follows the story of a twelve-year-old Black boy, Jordan, who starts to attend a new mostly white private school in graphic novel format. Each illustration is full of color bringing to life the wide range of characters and the many New York settings. In a full page spread split into three panels describing the crowd of students arriving to school as zombies, the street setting as a background shines through with rows of unique bodegas that could actually exist on a New York City street. Alongside the typical comic panels, this book also features sketched illustrations that are meant to represent the sketches that Jordan draws in his journal throughout the story. These spreads are black and white and look to be drawn with pen or pencil to look as close to a journal sketch as possible. The only bits of color on these spreads are items that are on the border of each image to really enhance the perspective the reader is meant to take on these spreads. In the “Jordan’s Guide to Fall Sports” spread, there is a colored donut on the top right corner on top of the black and white sketch giving it a three-dimensional effect.

These different illustration styles work well with the story. The sketches provide the reader with examples of Jordan’s talent and favorite hobby. The colors bring out the diversity which is a huge theme of this story as well as putting the lively atmosphere of the school and New York on display for the reader. When the story comes to an uncomfortable part, like Jordan entering the lunchroom for the first time, the images exaggerate to better show the feeling; for the instance previously mentioned, Jordan is drawn to appear ant-sized compared to the rest of the students. This exaggeration perfectly displays the intimidation felt by Jordan in this moment, a feeling many children can recognize and relate to.

The plot is easy to follow going chronologically through the whole school year highlighting moments that most impact Jordan’s change of heart about his school. The story handles racial issues that may be new or difficult to understand initially, but they are written in an uncomplicated way specifically focusing on the feelings these issues bring out. There are also plenty of Easter eggs in the book from videogames to movies that will keep children engaged looking for the next reference they will recognize. The plot also deals with typical issues many middle schoolers face giving a child another aspect to latch onto. The plot, then, wraps itself up nicely without a cliffhanger allowing the book to be read as a standalone; even though there is a sequel, it is not needed if it is unattainable.