Books like New Kid

Looking for books like New Kid by Jerry Craft (Middle Grade Graphic Novel · grades 4–8)? It’s most often read for its themes of race and identity, code-switching, and middle school adjustment. The 10 titlesbelow are the closest matches in the ReadingList database — each scored on shared themes, genre, and reading level, and each linked to the curricula, states, and grades where it’s assigned, with primary sources.

These are reading-level matches, not just topical ones — so the picks stay grade-appropriate for a grades 4–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

10 books similar to New Kid

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Why each is a match

Big Nate: In a Class by Himself500L
Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Middle Grade Graphic Novel), and overlapping grades (4–7).
Dog Man390L
Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Middle Grade Graphic Novel), and overlapping grades (2–5).
El Deafo420L
Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Middle Grade Graphic Novel), and overlapping grades (4–6).
Roller Girl440L
Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Middle Grade Graphic Novel), and overlapping grades (4–7).
Smile410L
Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Middle Grade Graphic Novel), and overlapping grades (4–8).
Chronicles of a Lizard Nobodygrades 4–8
Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Middle Grade Graphic Novel), and overlapping grades (4–8).
Curveballgrades 3–5
Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Middle Grade Graphic Novel), and overlapping grades (3–5).
Misfit Mansiongrades 3–5
Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Middle Grade Graphic Novel), and overlapping grades (3–5).
Swim Teamgrades 3–7
Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Middle Grade Graphic Novel), and overlapping grades (3–7).
The First Cat in Space Ate Pizzagrades 2–5
Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Middle Grade Graphic Novel), and overlapping grades (2–5).

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