The Brand New Kid

This longer rhyming story makes a good reminder at the beginning of the year about the importance of including new students in a school. Here, a new boy is excluded at first, the main character and her friends finding him too different, too "weird" to invite to their lunch table and recess games. But when it becomes clear that he and his family are upset and worried about his lack of friends, the children make a change. They invite him to play dates, to school activities, and to join in group work. They discover that he's a perfectly delightful person - one they'd have missed knowing if they had continued to ostracize him.

Illustrated with colored pencil and watercolors, the serious topic feels light and breezy here with bouncing rhyme show more and upbeat pictures. A difficult task made do-able! show less

I loved reading The Brand New Kid by Katie Couric as it was one of my favorite books as a child. One aspect I loved about the book was how it rhymed. I thought that this was an interesting way to write the book. Even though the end of each sentence didn’t rhyme, Couric still made sure the line ended with a rhyming word and then the sentence would still continue. This added a nice flow to the book while you read. Another aspect of the book that I loved was the message. When the new student came to school, he was made fun of and no one was friends with him. However, when one student reached out to him and started to get to know him, all of the other students followed along and then everyone was friends. This is an important message of show more friendship that students need to know. Lastly, I loved the illustrations. They were very clear and colorful, which added depth to the book. Overall, I loved reading The Brand New Kid by Katie Couric. show less

I had mixed feelings about this book after reading it. I liked the book because the plot was easy to follow. Specifically it followed Lazlo's perspective through his journey. It begun with him entering classroom 204, Miss Kincaid's class. It transitioned into his difficulty making friends with Ricky Jensen calling him a fool in the cafeteria and ended with Ellie telling the class all the great things about Lazlo. I didn't enjoy the rhyming element. It sounded forced and I found it distracted from the message of the book. An example being, "He may look slightly strange, have an accent and stuff, but if you knew him, you'd like him, it wouldn't be tough." That quote was taken from the ending of the book and I feel like it needs to be show more dissected to be understood. The big idea of this book is to see that even if someone is different from you they have their own strengths, and everyone doesn't need to be the same. show less

I really enjoyed this picture book. It was extremely touching and really meaningful. This book is about a student named Lazlo S. Gasky, who moved from a different town and has a different accent. He is bullied by his classmates for looking different and struggles to make friends the first few weeks of school. He is tripped in the lunch room and his food flies everywhere. After school, Ellie sees Lazlo's mother crying and finds out she might pull him out of school because he has not been fitting it or accepted. Ellie then feels bad and asks Lazlo to play after school on Thursday. I love that this book had illustrations that really made you feel like you were a part of the story. They really enhanced the story and made me really show more appreciate the setting. Also, the characters were really well-developed and showed different personalities. Finally, the plot really kept me on my toes because I wanted to find out what was going to happen next. I wanted to know if Lazlo was going to make any friends and if his classmates were going to finally accept him, even if he was different. The main theme of this book is to never judge a book by its cover and that no one deserves to be bullied. I feel that everyone should understand that and give people a chance. show less

This was a story that can relate to every child who reads it. Everyone knows a Lazlo, someone who gets picked on and teased just for being different, but seeing someone who can look past his differences can really influence readers to do the same in their own lives. Katie Couric shows that it may be easy to ignore or tease the new kid, and that the right thing of reaching out to him may take us out of our comfort zone, but it is always the best thing to do, and I admire that.

All the colorful pictures and characters emphasize this message, too. Lazlo is the new and different kid, and his appearance reflects his description; he does not look the same as the other children in the class. However, his appearance almost seems to change after show more Ellie asks him to play; his expression becomes happy, and because of this change, we can see that he is just another child, another student, who should be treated just as the rest of the class is treated. show less

A brand new kid at school is teased but two kind students step up and teach others how to include him. Perfect for 5-7 year-olds, and would compliment lessons on diversity & inclusion. Wonderful, warm story about a delicate topic.

A good example of realistic fiction because in every school new students can have difficulties making friends and being accepted in unfamiliar places. Almost anyone can relate to this story, by being the new kid, the friend, the classmate, or the teacher. When this strange new student comes to school and does not receive any warmth whatsoever, it takes quite a wake up call for anyone to befriend him. He looks different and has an accent, but ends up being not so different from the rest. The reader is left with complex ideals to consider, such as accepting others, being kind, and having courage to do things that no one else is willing to do. Set in a school, the story has a universal feel for anyone who goes to school or ever has gone to show more school. The time is not formally established and there is much to relate to regardless of the reader's age.

Media: watercolors show less