“Last Stop On Market Street” by Matt De La Peña

“Last Stop on Market Street”
Written by Matt de la Peña (I could not find anything on de la Peña’s early life relating to why he wrote this book.)
Illustrated by Christian Robinson
Published January 8^th, 2015
The book has won the John Newbery Medal and the Caldecott Medal (illustrations)
I found this book on weneeddiversebooks.org, I searched end of the year lists and the cover caught my attention.
Brief description:
- The story follows young C.J. and his Nana as they venture home from church. Repeatedly C.J. asks his Nana why they don’t have a car, why they have to take the bus and why they always get off where it’s “so dirty”. J. is comparing what he has to his peers who didn’t have to wait for the bus in the rain, who instead just hopped in their cars with their parents and drove away. His Nana gives him answers to his questions that give C.J. the sense that despite his family doing things differently than his friends, his life is still as beautiful, and in some ways better than theirs.
I consider this book a diverse book because it pictures a child coming from a low-income background. J.’s family doesn’t have a car, they take the bus and get off in the “dirty” part of town. As a child, we all want to have what everyone else has in order to fit in and sometimes that is just not possible. This book can identify with children who come from low-income families, don’t have parents (C.J. is pictured with only his Nana for the whole book), and children whose parents don’t/can’t give them everything that other children have.
Review:
- This book definitely amplifies the voices of its characters. J.’s Nana keeps giving him reasons to love the life he lives despite it being different and harder than his peers. By doing this, the character Nana gives insight into how a life with less can actually be just as fulfilling if not more. Nana talks about how she feels bad for C.J.’s friends who have a car because they don’t get to meet “Bobo or the Sunglass Man”.
- The book does reproduce the status quo of low-income families, however, it shines a new light on the idea that being less materialistic gives you a more beautiful life. Nana stresses to C.J. on several occasions that taking the bus back provides them with opportunities that C.J.’s friends don’t have.
- I definitely would recommend this book. I myself can even identify with it. As a child, my parents couldn’t afford to buy me Hollister clothes or Nike sneakers every school year. I would beg and beg but I grew to learn it just wasn’t feasible for my family. For children who go through similar experiences, having this new perspective that they are provided with different opportunities can really boost confidence and help children to see themselves in the literature they are reading.