Youth Book Club Meetings 1/26 and 1/28

Boys in the Hood Book Club completed “New Kid” by Jerry Craft. Discussion questions are below.

1. Which character in the book do you identify with the most? Why?
2. Have you ever struggled to fit in? How were your experiences like Jordan’s and not like Jordan’s?
3. What makes being a new kid so challenging for Jordan? How do the school, teachers, and other kids make it difficult for him? 
4. If you had to choose between a sport and being in a school musical which would you choose? Why?
5. How does Jordan handle the impacts of race with his friendships?
6. Why is it important to see ourselves reflected in books and other media? Have you seen yourself reflected in a book? 
7. How do you handle having a new kid at your school?
8. Which of the many pressures that Jordan faced can you most relate to?
9. Jordan uses drawing as a means to express and sort through his feelings. What activities do you do to help you sort through your feelings (nervousness, sadness, fear, anger)?
10. Dr. Derald Wing Sue defines microaggressions as “The everyday slights, put-downs, or invalidations that people of color experience in their day-to-day interactions with well-intentioned people who are unaware of their put-down invalidations.” Give two examples of when Jordan or any of his classmates of color experience microaggressions.
11. New Kid is a graphic novel. A graphic novel is composed using both text and images within story panels. Draft your own graphic tale using comic panels. Be sure to use both text and images to tell your story.