Last Stop on Market Street
By: Matt De La Pena
Illustrated by: Christian Robinson
Newbery Medal

This book is about a grandmother and son’s ride home on the bus from church one Sunday morning. This Sunday CJ, the little boy, has a million questions for his grandmother. And like always, grandmothers know best. He asks questions like, why they don’t have a car like his friend? Or why they get off the bus in the dirty part of town? Each question is answered with a loving, answer from his grandmother, who reminds him of the beauty they are able to see in everything. In the end, the grandmother and son end up at a shelter where they are helping feed the poor.


I am officially in love with this book after watching a few interviews on the author and illustrator of this book. I love how the images capture a love that he had with his own grandmother. I think that this book would be very relatable for some of the children in my classroom someday. It is so important to have these type of not only multicultural books, but also a book about day to day life that so many children can understand. This book would be great for ages K-5th grade. After reading a book like this I think it would be good for students to write a paragraph or two about beautiful things that they might see that wouldn’t be pointed out as beautiful everyday.

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