Language Arts, Reading Comprehension, Social Studies, Social Issues, Hunger: What is the "Last Stop on Market Street"? What are CJ and Nana doing there? What is a soup kitchen? Who eats there?.
The story has enough complexity beneath the surface to reward a more literary analysis for older students and is therefore a great book for including diverse learners. It's a natural choice for units on community and it belongs in any discussion on beauty, gratitude or materialism. For teachers, this book is a wonderful starting point for discussions about attitude and values. I ( Rebecca) can see why the Newbery Committee was impressed enough by this book to break with tradition and award it the medal. The tone is reminiscent of Ezra Jack Keats' "Snowy Day" (see list of related books below). Robinson's warm and colorful primitive-style illustrations of a diverse city (San Francisco?) are a great match for the simplicity of the story and for Nana's ability to find beauty in the basic humanity around them. They follow a disabled man and a homeless man down the street until they reach the soup kitchen where CJ and Nana do their weekly volunteer shift serving the meal.ĭe la Pena's text masterfully makes the city quite vivid to the reader with sights and sounds that will stay with you. When they arrive at the "last stop", CJ asks, "How come it's always so dirty over here?" Nana replies, "Sometimes when you're surrounded by dirt, CJ, you're a better witness for what's beautiful." The bus ride includes a conversation with a blind man and an impromptu concert by a man with a guitar. It is so well regarded that it won the prestigious Newbery Medal, one of only two picture books ever to have won and the first by a Latino author.Īs the story begins, CJ is feeling sorry for himself, "How come we gotta wait for the bus in all this wet?" Why don't they have a car? Why can't he play after church like his friends? Nana answers with child-like images to connect CJ to the wonders around him: a fire-breathing bus and trees drinking rain through straws. The tone is quite light and playful while the themes explored are profound. Along the way, the grandmother helps him appreciate the unexpected beauty in the city, especially in the people. An African-American child and his look-on-the-bright-side grandmother take a bus, after church, to a soup kitchen (though we don't find out their destination until the end). This picture book is truly extraordinary and, while delightful for the preschool set, can also be used with older students right up through middle school.
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