Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Pena

 

Title: Last Stop on Market Street 

Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction 

Author: Matt de la Pena 

Illustrator: Christian Robinson 

Major Awards: 2016 Newbery Medal, 2016 Caldecott Honor Book, 2016 Coretta Scott King Honor Book, 2016 Charlotte Zolotow Award Honor Book 

Age group: Ages 3-6 

 

Summary: 

This story is about a little boy, CJ, and his grandma that ride the public bus every Sunday after church. In this particular day, CJ questions his grandma about why they don’t have the things his friends have and why they always have to get off in the ugly part of town. After all these questions, his grandma gives him an answer that makes him see the beauty of everything they own and where they live. 

Evaluation: 

Appropriate grade level for this book would be Kindergarten to 3rd grade. I would use this book in my classroom because it teaches a good lesson, how to love the things that you have and where you live. This is book would be a great read aloud but also a good book to practice reading comprehension. We can talk about the characters in the book and complete an activity with that. We can talk about certain words that are in the text and build up the students' vocabulary.