School Trip (Graphic)

 

My Thoughts:

Author and Artist Jerry Craft gives middle readers a good, wholesome, functional, and diverse group of friends having adventures in middle school. From our first introduction to the very likable Jordan Banks in the Newberry Award book New Kid, this third and last book about Jordan and his friends at Riverdale Academy Day School is a nice way to end their middle school journey and return having learned even more about tolerance, friendship and facing bullying and racism with grace and honesty. 

This is just a nice book. And if you ever get to meet Jerry Craft, you will also see that he is nice. His characters reflect his own personality. Like Gene Luen Yang, they are giving of their time and talent. They are natural mentors for others. That author personality comes through in School Trip, even by the way that the teachers are treated by these students.

Thank you Jordan, Drew, Liam, Maury, Ramon, Samira (even Ashley, Andy and Coach Roche) for a gentle reminder that middle school is really about relationships, and that relationships can be worked on even on the last week of middle school. Of course being in Paris helps, but lasting change comes from taking ourselves out of our usual ruts and perhaps that is where Paris comes in.

From the Publishers:

Jordan, Drew, Liam, Maury, and their friends from Riverdale Academy Day School are heading out on a school trip to Paris. As an aspiring artist himself, Jordan can’t wait to see all the amazing art in the famous City of Lights.

But when their trusted faculty guides are replaced at the last minute, the school trip takes an unexpected—and hilarious—turn. Especially when trying to find their way around a foreign city ends up being almost as tricky as navigating the same friendships, fears, and differences that they struggle with at home.

Will Jordan and his friends embrace being exposed to a new language, unfamiliar food, and a different culture? Or will they all end up feeling like the “new kid”?

Publication Information:

Author: Jerry Craft

Publisher: Quill Tree Books (April 4, 2023)