THE NEW KID HAS FLEAS

A story intended to encourage warm welcomes to newcomers.

Dyckman is no longer a newcomer to picture books, but she uses her dedication to thank those who helped her when she was. Unfortunately, the latest offering from this picture-book veteran falls short of delivering a satisfying story due to the cartoon-style illustrations’ literal interpretation of the text. The first-person narration follows an elementary-age student who regards a new kid in class with some trepidation. She has curly, red hair and light skin (like the narrator’s), and her behavior seems downright animalistic in the illustrations. The other kids in the diverse classroom ostracize her, with one child echoing the title to say she has fleas. The narrator is concerned when the teacher pairs them for a project, and here’s where the interaction between art and text goes seriously awry. The narrator goes home with the girl only to end up at a cave and find out that she is a feral child raised by wolves. Yes, this explains her behavior in the art, but any real-world application of the bighearted message of the story is derailed by this odd turn of events even though the narrator enjoys the time spent with her and they seem to be friends by the book’s end.

This new book has flaws.