Being the new kid is hard, a child in the school playground tells us. I can think of better things to ask than if I'm a boy or a girl. Another child comes along and says she gets asked why she always has her nose in a book. Someone else gets asked where they come from.

One after another, children share the questions they're tired of being asked again and again — as opposed to what they believe are the most important or interesting things about themselves. As they move around the playground, picking up new friends along the way, there is a feeling of understanding and acceptance among them. And in the end, the new kid comes up with the question they would definitely all like to hear: "Hey kid, want to play?"

Sara O'Leary's thoughtful text and Qin Leng's expressive illustrations tell a story about children who are all different, all themselves, all just kids. (From Groundwood Books)

Sara O'Leary is a writer from Quebec. She is the author of the novel The Ghost in the House and the children's books Owls Are Good at Keeping Secrets, illustrated by Jacob Grant, A Family Is a Family Is a Family, illustrated by Qin Leng, and This Is Sadie, illustrated by Julie Morstad.

Qin Leng lives and works as a designer and illustrator in Toronto.