Graphic novel, easy to read

The English translation is loved by kids!

Grade 9/10 - A2

• Francophone school board was doing it in grade 7

Writing includes present tense, passé composé

Very funny and witty

Well-paced, lots of little segments

No page numbers, but there are chapters

Beautiful graphics, broken up by sketches from the main character's notebook

Summary:

• Main character is starting a new school

• He acts certain ways in Black versus White neighbourhoods

• Most of the students at his new school are athletes whereas he is an artist

• Character befriends the only other Black students there, and they commiserate in the daily microagressions they face

• Talks about Christmas and Kwanzaa

• Overall positive

Students are enjoying the novel - depends on how you’re teaching it: not as groups, in table groups and class-wide discussions

Teaching moment: There's a diagram about handshakes in the book - talking about how to show respects, differences between cultures, pairs with the imperative

The English copy is available, students might consult it, but no issues of students reading it already

Potential for extension activity: Every chapter find a song that relates to the themes in the novel

It may contain explicit language or discriminatory views.