Last Stop On Market Street

BIBLIOGRAPHY

De La Pena, Matt. 2015. Last Stop on Market Street. Ill. by Christian Robinson.

New York, NY: Penguin Group. ISBN 9780399257742

PLOT SUMMARY

De La Pena shares the story of young boy venturing through his neighborhood, by bus, with his grandma. It begins with CJ questioning why he has to ride the bus instead of them owning a car. Throughout the trip through the city, he notices more differences between what he has vs. others. Nana assures him that they have everything they need and encourages him to notice the world around him. After exiting the bus, Nana helps CJ take notice of the beauty that can be found within the dirtiness of their surroundings. They finally arrive at their destination, which is a soup kitchen, and CJ decides he is glad that they made the trip, as he and his grandma help serve the members of their community.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

 De La Pena’s text details the kind of thoughts and questions that a lot of readers can relate to, when   feeling like you don’t have as much as everyone else. “Nana, how come we don’t have a car?” “CJ stared out the window feeling sorry for himself.” The grandma has a consistent, positive tone throughout the story as she strives to show CJ that possessions are not the measure of happiness.

This colorfully illustrated book embraces the diversity all around us with the characters and urban settings. The details in the artwork help to develop the characters. For example, one character is a gruff looking bald man, covered in tattoos. Sitting next to him is a small, older woman with a handkerchief around her head, holding a jar of butterflies. Robinson uses bright colors such as the orange clothing, red umbrellas, and lively blue background to emphasize the positive tones of the book.

The text and the illustrations work in tandem to support each other. In the final pages, the text shows how CJ is starting to be appreciative of his community, while the illustrations show him and Nana coming up to a line outside the soup kitchen. Just when you are starting to think that maybe he and his grandma are in need of food, the next page details more than a dozen people sitting at tables, while others are in line waiting to be served. Robinson shows us that CJ and Nana are actually serving others. The illustrations are bright and all of the characters have a big smile on their face. The final image is Nana and CJ sitting at the bus stop. Robinson includes a big grin on CJ’s face as he reads a book patiently. leaves off, the illustrations pick up. The theme prevalent throughout the text is to truly appreciate the beauty in life, one must have experienced the bad.

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

John Newbery Medal

Caldecott Honor Book

Coretta Scott King Award

Horn Book Guide: “A quietly remarkable book.”

School Library Journal: "This is an excellent book that highlights less popular topics such as urban life, volunteerism, and thankfulness, with people of color as the main characters."

CONNECTIONS

*This is a book that encourages you to be thankful for what you have.

*Discuss ways that you can make a difference in your community.

*Other books for children about volunteering:

Stover, Jo Ann. If Everybody Did. ISBN 9780890844878

Speckhart, Danielle. The Littlest Volunteers. ISBN 1424330122