Last Stop on Market Street

Newbery Award Winner, 2016

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Justification: I chose this book for its appealing message of service, silver linings and the diversity of life. It's deserving of the Newbery Award and this book is rich in color and in substance.

Evaluation: A young African American boy, CJ, is led by his grandmother from church to a soup kitchen where they volunteer each week. The book is more about their journey than the destination and all of the people they meet in the community along the way. They take the Market Street bus, which CJ laments, wondering why they don't have a car like his friend Colby. His Nana teaches CJ to appreciate all of the beauty around him, including the music and wonder of taking the bus. Along the route, we meet a cast of characters: a man with a guitar, a woman holding a jar of butterflies, a heavily tattooed man and a blind man and his seeing-eye dog. The bind man encourages CJ to close his eyes and listen to the strumming of the man with the guitar. CJ is transported into a colorful world with sunsets and crashing waves. He is liberated while lost in the sound.

Geometrical shaped textural artwork dominates this book in acrylic. The images are rendered in flat perspective and Christian Robinson, our illustrator, employs an expert use of collage. Robinson depicts a diverse, inclusive, urban setting in vivid colors and shapes and brings a warmth and glow to each page. The angular shapes stand out as they comprise the building blocks of the characters. CJ is depicted predominately as a bright yellow square body with turquoise rectangular legs. His head is a brown round perfect circle and the shapes are all stacked one on top of the other.

Author de la Peña's words read like poetry as we are encouraged by Nana's words of positivity. CJ questions why they don't have a car or he doesn't have an iPod or why they have to walk the dirty streets. Nana teaches CJ to open up to kindness and to help those who are less fortunate. "Sometimes when you're surrounded by dirt, CJ, you're a better witness for what's beautiful." And when we turn the page after hearing Nan's uplifting words, we see a rainbow high above the gritty urban landscape and a mural which reads "One Love".

Conclusion: Beauty is found in unexpected places in this tale of a vibrant, diverse, urban community. This book beautifully displays the love between a boy and his grandmother.

APA Reference: Peña, M.d.l., & Robinson, C. (2015). Last stop on Market Street. New York, NY: G.P. Putnam's Sons.