Last Stop On Market Street

Title: Last Stop On Market Street
Genre: Multicultural
Author: Matt de la Pena
Major Awards: Newbery Medal, Caldecott Medal
Age Group: 1st-3rd grade

This is the story of CJ and his nana who ride a bus to Market Street each Sunday. Though this is their weekly routine, CJ starts to feel different about it this day. He asks why they have to wait in the rain for the bus. His nana replies, "Trees get thirsty, too." He asks why they don't have a car. His nana replies, "What do we need a car for? We got a bus that breathes fire, and old Mr. Dennis, who always has a trick for you." He asks why a man on the bus can't see. His nana replies, "Some people watch the world with their ears." He asks why it is so dirty in their part of town. His nana replies, "Sometimes when you're surrounded by dirt, you're a better witness for what's beautiful." This statement completely shifts CJ's mood, making him see the world in a new way. In the end, he tells his nana he is glad they came to Market Street, and feels thankful for what his nana taught him.

I loved, loved this story, and will definitely use it in my future classroom! It is such a sweet story that makes the reader stop and realize how many blessings they have in their life if they just look. Like CJ, I know I can become jealous of others and what they have, but in the end none of that is important. This book does a great job of teaching that there is beauty in the mundane, simple parts of life. I think that it is a great story to read to students to remind them of this!

I believe that this is most appropriate for first through third graders. It definitely takes a certain amount of maturity to understand the lesson taught in the story, so by first grade I think that they would be able to grasp it. I think that first graders would need it read and explained to them, but it would be a great one to hand to a second or third grader to read on their own. The plot is very simple, and the message is very easy to identify. 

In my classroom, I could have each student think of something that they might take for granted in their life and write about why it is important to them. For example, the air conditioning in their house. There are also a ton of wonderful worksheets online, as well. One I really liked is a "Characters' Response to Challenges" worksheet. It states different challenges in the story, and the student has to write what CJ was worried about, and how his nana responded to that worry.