Jerry Craft’s NEW KID Wins 2019 KIRKUS PRIZE

Jerry Craft’s New Kid has been announced one of three winners of this year’s Kirkus Prize. The HarperCollins title won for the “Young Readers’ Literature” category. In addition to the honor, Craft will also receive $50,000 from Kirkus Reviews.

“New Kid is a laugh-out-loud combination of art and story that showcases the beauty of graphic novels,” read the judges’ statement. “Author and illustrator Jerry Craft, along with colorist Jim Callahan, illuminates the angst of an African American child leaving his neighborhood to start seventh grade in a predominantly white private school.”

“We are invited to befriend Jordan, the likeable protagonist, as well as the richly-drawn members who inhabit his communities. In this intergenerational story, every character is treated compassionately. It could only be written by someone who himself has responded to microaggressions and successfully navigated power structures. Jordan Banks is a code-switcher, an activist, and a peacemaker, a superhero for us all.”