Last Stop on Market Street by Matt De La Peña

    
       Bibliography

De la Peña, Matt. 2015. Last Stop on Market Street. III. by Christian Robinson. New York, NY: G.P. Putnam's Sons, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA). ISBN 9780545964524

   Plot Summary

This is the story of a young African-American boy, CJ,  who leaves church and takes a bus ride to the end of Market Street. During their ride, CJ starts to wonder and builds curiosity towards the world and people around him. CJ inquires about having to walk in the rain, why they don’t drive a car, and yearning for things he doesn’t have. CJ delves deeper into his surroundings from the music to the graffiti and creating his own understanding of his identity. Nana provides explanation to everything around him with love and grace. Where does the last stop on Market Street take them? Will CJ begin to make sense of his surroundings and his own happiness?

 Critical Analysis

In the beginning of the story, we see CJ’s curiosity and dissatisfaction develop and Nana provide answers in the shape of metaphors with trees drinking from straws, and their bus that breathes fire. The metaphors serve a purpose of allowing CJ to use his youthfulness to imagine and create images of what’s around him.   As they set on their bus journey, the diversity and multiculturalism comes alive with different types of people they encounter including: a tattooed man, a woman with a headscarf, different shades of skin color, a man in a wheelchair, and a blind musician.

The illustrations provide shapes that are block-like with simple colors for the eye to meet. From the buildings to the cars, the colors contrast each other. The dark gray skies illustrating the rainy day to the greens, yellows, and blues of the town and its citizens. CJ is seen wearing a bright yellow sweater, which is shown throughout the entire story line to. Towards the end of the story, there is a change in colors, as instead of a rainy sky, a rainbow appears indicating CJ’s understanding of finding what’s beautiful everywhere they go.

The story brings vivid imagery to the readers, by using figurative language, personifying the bus, saying it “sighed and sagged,” or stepping out of church into “outside air [that] smelled like freedom.”Along with that, we see the perspective change from CJ to Nana as CJ whines about his daily life. This enables the reader to understand the story through more than one set of eyes, which makes the meaning much deeper. In addition, the story promotes a great moral, by CJ being continually reminded that happiness is all around, and how one choose to look at life, can change one’s perspective, just like Nana did in the story. The story reminds readers that gratefulness, compassion, and kindness to humanity, will bring the simplest forms of joy.

Review excerpts and Awards

2016 Newbery Medal Winner

2016 Caldecott Honor Book

2016 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book

2015 Top 10 Latin books list by School Library Journal

#1 New York Times Bestseller

From Newbery Medal Committee Chair Ernie J. Cox: "Read it aloud to someone. The use of language to elicit questions, to spark imagination and to make us laugh is at its best when spoken."

From School Library Journal: "The urban setting is truly reflecting, showing people with different skin colors, body types, abilities, ages, and classes in a natural and authentic manner... A lovely title"

Connections

Last stop on Market street (Spanish Edition): Ultima parada de la calle Market ISBN 9788484705499

Other books by Matt De la Peña and illustrator Christian Robinson:

Carmela Full of Wishes ISBN  9780399549045

Other books by Matt De La Peña and illustrator Lorena Long:

Love ISBN 9781524740917