The New Girl Level 21-22

The New Girl explores themes of friendship, change, and empathy as Amy, stuck at home with a broken ankle, watches her best friend Kim befriend the new girl at school. Feeling left out, Amy struggles with jealousy until she meets the new girl and discovers they have something in common. This emotionally rich narrative is written from a child's perspective and features direct speech and specialised vocabulary such as œcast and œcrutches. The story supports the development of comprehension, particularly around character motivation, relationships, and internal conflict. Word study includes contractions, silent letters, and compound words, offering a valuable phonics focus. The New Girl is a powerful tool for promoting emotional literacy, inclusive thinking, and making and maintaining friendships.

Educational Benefits

• Encourages empathy and social understanding through realistic scenarios.
• Strengthens comprehension of character development and conflict resolution.
• Supports phonics instruction, especially silent letters and contractions.
• Promotes narrative writing that includes resolution and character growth.

Classroom Ideas

• Role-play the story's scenes to explore perspective and feelings.
• Discuss and write about times students felt left out and how they responded.
• Create a get-well card as if from Kim to Amy to practise empathy.
• Highlight and explore contractions and compound words in the text.

Safety & Information

• Suitable for ages 8+
• Book dimensions: 210mm x 148mm
• Printed on durable, non-toxic paper stock.
• Safe for classroom sharing and independent reading.