Last Stop on Market Street

Plot

A young African-American boy named CJ exits a church, accompanied by his grandmother (nicknamed Nana), during a rainstorm. As they walk to a bus stop, CJ asks Nana why they have to walk in the rain, and Nana replies that trees, too, need water. When they arrive as the bus stop, CJ witnesses his friend, Colby, riding home in a car with his father and asks his Nana why they do not have a car. Later, the bus pulls up outside of them and CJ, along with his Nana, walks up to the front seat. After encountering a blind man and witnessing two boys with iPods a man plays a song on his guitar, causing CJ to finally feel true beauty. The book ends with a more mature CJ and Nana working at a soup kitchen.

Reception

Kirkus Reviews called Last Stop on Market Street "a textual and artistic tour de force." Writing for The New York Times Book Review, Newbery Medal-winning author Linda Sue Park wrote that, in addition to the revelation that CJ and Nana are on their way to a soup kitchen, "it's also the warmth of their intergenerational relationship that will make this book so satisfying, for both young readers and the adults sharing it with them." Thom Barthelmess wrote in Booklist that "The celebratory warmth is irresistible, offering a picture of community that resonates with harmony and diversity." Nell Beram wrote in The Horn Book Magazine, "This quietly remarkable book will likely inspire questions of a sort less practical-minded than CJ's; it will also have some adult readers reaching for a tissue." Writing for School Library Journal, Joy Fleishhacker said, "Poetic narration, radiant geometric-shaped artwork, and an authentic and enrichingly eye-opening representation of a diverse urban setting combine with out-and-out child appeal to make this tale a standout."

Awards