New Kid by Jerry Craft
Available At: Academy Endeavour, Aspen Valley JH, Challenger, DCC (MS), Mountain Ridge, Prairie Hills, SITW, Timberview
Aspen Valley (JH) added approx. Nov 2023
Categories: Racism
Description: Seventh grade African American boy Jordan Banks dutifully travels from his Washington Heights apartment to the upscale private Riverdale Academy Day School. As one of the few kids of color in his new school, Jordan feels out of place.
YA Label?: No
Notes: Contains race-baiting, micro-aggressions, racism, and bullying.
Rating: 1
| N | N | Y | N | N | Y |
The above scale indicates whether, in our view, the referenced book violates established and upheld Federal (Miller Test) and State (Colorado Obscenity Test) standards. Books that violate ALL established standards will have a table printed in red. Under Colorado Law, willful distribution of such material is deemed a Class 6 penalty carrying a fine and/or up to 18 months in prison.
Snippets
Page: [DEPICTION black child shows up for first day of school and sees a black man driving up – to which the black child smiles. But, then, the black man steps out and opens the door for a white child – to which the black child frowns.]
Page: [DEPICTION two black children in background looking at black child in forefront. Black child in forefront has head in shape of Oreo cookie] Boy 1: “Why do they call him Maury-o?” Boy 2: “I heard ’cause it rhymes with ‘Oreo.’ But I still don’t get it.” Boy 1: “Oh…I do…Unfortunately.” [side note: ‘Oreo’ is a derogatory reference for a black person who acts like a white person – “black on the outside, white on the inside”.]
Page: [DEPICTION black child sitting on bus away from a white woman, child, and police officer staring at him with concerned looks] “Last comes Riverdale, where I do my best not to look cool AT ALL! No shades, and definitely no hood. I don’t even like to draw ’cause people might think I’m going to use my markers to ‘tag the bus’.” [black child says out loud] “I LOVE quadratic equations, don’t you?” [woman and police officer smile at him in relief].
Page 133: [DEPICTION two black children speaking to each other] – Boy 1: “What did you get today?” Boy 2: “A gift certificate.” Boy 1: “Cool! For where?” Boy 2 [Looking frustrated]: “KFC.”