Jerry Craft is the winner of the Newbery Medal for his graphic novel New Kid. He has worked on numerous picture books, graphic novels, and middle grade novels. Jerry is the creator of Mama's Boyz, an award-winning syndicated comic strip. He has won five African American Literary Awards, and he is a cofounder of the Schomburg Center's Annual Black Comic Book Festival. He received his BFA from the School of Visual Arts and now lives in Connecticut. Visit him online at www.jerrycraft.com. Jerry Craft is the winner of the Newbery Medal for his graphic novel New Kid. He has worked on numerous picture books, graphic novels, and middle grade novels. Jerry is the creator of Mama's Boyz, an award-winning syndicated comic strip. He has won five African American Literary Awards, and he is a cofounder of the Schomburg Center's Annual Black Comic Book Festival. He received his BFA from the School of Visual Arts and now lives in Connecticut. Visit him online at www.jerrycraft.com.
A well-Crafted, visually rich, truth-telling tale for our troubled times that affirms the eternal importance of friends. -- <em>Kirkus Reviews </em><strong>(starred review)</strong> Craft makes the story honest and believable and presents it as a powerful, if difficult to achieve, real-world possibility. Another work of resounding understanding and empathy. -- <em>Booklist </em><strong>(starred review)</strong> Lightning strikes twice as Craft again produces a funny and appealing yet sensitive and nuanced middle grade tale of inequity and microaggressions. -- School Library Journal <strong>(starred review)</strong> Hilarious and heartfelt. Craft adeptly balances poignant questions...with laugh-out-loud moments of adolescence, making Class Act a substantial snapshot of the interior life of boys, especially Black boys who are too often not afforded such attention, love, and care. -- The Horn Book Magazine (starred review) Craft approaches Drew's-and his devoted friends'-dilemmas with candor and respect. Kids who missed volume one can dive in here and backtrack later; kids already on board will identify episodes and new characters around which they can build hope for a third entry. -- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books <strong>(starred review)</strong> Deftly weaving discussions of race, socioeconomics, colorism, and solidarity into an accessible narrative, Craft offers a charming cast journeying through the complicated landscapes of puberty, self-definition, and changing friendships, all while grappling with the tensions of attending an institution that structurally and culturally neglects students of color. -- <em>Publishers Weekly</em> <strong>(starred review)</strong>