Review: De La Peña, M. D., & Robinson, C. (2015). Last stop on Market Street.

De La Peña, M. D., & Robinson, C. (2015). Last stop on Market Street. New York; Penguin.

A short but poignant picture book awarded the Newbery Medal, a Caldecott Honor Book and Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book, this story and it’s accompanying illustrations transcend socioeconomic stereotypes.  CJ is a young boy leaving church with his nana one morning, and as they wait for their city bus in the rain, he begins to pepper her with questions somewhat petulantly: why they must wait in the wet, why they do not have a family car like his friend,  why they must go to church, and even questions about the passengers on the bus, such as why one man cannot see.

His nana’s wise and zippy answers help him to find the beauty in the world around them and in the experiences he gets to have that others may not, such as the driver pulling a coin from behind his ear, the guitarist playing live music, or the lady with butterflies in a jar.  When he references friends who do not have to do what he does, his nana responds that she feels “sorry for those boys” because of the experiences they are missing out on.

The illustrations are bright and simple and depict characters both ethically and culturally diverse.  When CJ and his grandmother reach the “last stop on market street,” he has one more question for her regarding their circumstances, and when he stops to reflect on her answer, wonders “how his nana always found beautiful where he never even thought to look.”  The story ends with the main character feeling calm and content, providing readers a view into different human experiences, and possibly a sense of peace with their own lives, grateful for the world around them.