In 2016, "Last Stop on Market Street" received the coveted Newbery Medal. Each year the American Library Association selects one book as the most distinguished American children's book. "Last Stop on Market Street" is only the second picture book to receive the award. In addition to the Newbery, it earned a Caldecott Honor and a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor. Before any of these, the Imagination Library Blue Ribbon Book Selection Committee chose it.
Author, Matt de la Peña was pleased the Imagination Library had an early interest in the book and impressed with the program’s incredible reach. He shared his appreciation for the Imagination Library, his approach to diversity, his response to winning the Newbery and much more in an in-depth interview.
Quick facts about author, Matt de la Peña
He went to college on a basketball scholarship.
He has authored 10 books, but only two are picture books - the rest are novels.
He grew up in San Diego, CA and now lives in Brooklyn, NY.
He likes to read Middle Grade and Young Adult books with strong female lead characters because of his daughter.
He plays guitar.
His favorite Dolly Parton movie is Steel Magnolias - despite being a “machismo” guy.
He is the first Latino man to win the Newbery Medal.
Q. From where did you get your inspiration for "Last Stop on Market Street?"
A. I was thinking about this idea that all these young kids are told what they should want and how they think life should be. Around that time, my agent, he sent me an email and said, “Hey, I want you to check out this new illustrator I’m about to sign. His name is Christian Robinson. Here’s his blog, it’s called ‘The Art of Fun.’” There were a lot of illustrations on the blog. One of them was a boy on the bus with his grandmother. I said, “Wow, I really love that one.” So I spent the next few months trying to figure out what the story would be around that illustration.
Q. How did you react when you found out "Last Stop on Market Street" received the Newbery Medal?
A. I was completely shocked, and I still am. I was unaware that picture books could even be considered. You don’t think it’s possible for those kind of things to happen to you. I believe I threatened to kiss [the committee member who delivered the news] and all the other committee members.
Q. How do you feel about being the first Latino man to receive the Newbery Medal?
A. I’m a Mexican-American person, but I’m also bi-racial, I’m half white as well. I view myself as a Mexican writer, but I also write about feeling a little less Mexican than the rest of my family. It was a really powerful moment because I’ve always wanted to feel more a part of the community and the fact that I could bring a Newbery to the community, it just made me think of the incredible Latino and Latina authors that I’ve read and how this is for our community as much as it is for me.
Q. What did you think about the honor of being picked for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library?
A. I think it’s amazing. I think the mission that you guys have is what the book’s all about.
Q. In the book, Nana shows CJ how to see the best in people and situations. In your life, who or what influenced you to see the good in people and circumstances?
A. If I had to name one person who did that, it would be my grandmother. Her first language was Spanish, so she sometimes didn’t feel super comfortable with her English, but she would always be there. If good things happened to me or if bad things happened to me, she would always do the same thing, she would pat my knee and give me this look that said: “It’s all going to be just fine.”
Q. Can you share with us your thought process in how you created CJ's voice in the book?
A. Sure, because this was a big decision. I wanted to be authentic, and I wanted to be true to who this kid was, mostly his frustration. Here’s what I decided, I would rather record, basically onto the page, what I hear as opposed to trying to correct his English to be a teaching tool for parents and teachers. I just wanted to be as honest as possible.
Q. Can you recall a moment from your childhood when you saw something that you wanted, but it seemed as unattainable to you as the iPod was to CJ?
A. The biggest way that I felt that is college, I went to a school where nobody talked about college much. I grew up in a community where nobody talked about college. I thought people like us just didn’t go to college.
Q. How do you share your love of reading with your daughter?
A. We read to her non-stop. My daughter is a reluctant eater. She doesn’t really love food. She eats because she is supposed to eat. So we’ve developed this routine where if we read her books she’ll eat all her dinner. So we read to her for an hour during dinnertime, and we read to her before bed.
Q. Has your daughter inspired any stories that we might see in print soon?
A. She’s made me want to write more picture books because I see the magic of picture books. Watching her stare at the pictures and be hanging on every word and then watching her take the book and pretend that she’s reading by herself... it’s really one of the most incredible things about being a parent.
Q. In your essay, "Sometimes The 'Tough Teen' Is Quietly Writing Stories" you tell an inspiring story about your father and how books transformed him. How did you think your life would have been different had your dad found his love of reading and books when you were a child?
A. Looking back, I love the way it all evolved. My parents, I feel are lucky too because they’re still pretty young, because they had kids so young so they’re having this second life as educated people on the backend. It’s really amazing to see. One of the things my mom always says is that my dad is a better husband.
BOOK SPOILER ALERT
Q. The guitar player seems to bring the shift in CJ's view of his environment. Is music a big part of your life?
A. It’s a huge part, as a matter of fact, I’ve played guitar for probably 30 years. I’m still not that good, but I play it all the time. I think music is communication without words. In an interesting way, that’s what my career is all about, the music of language.
Q. At the end of the book, we discover CJ and Nana are on their way to volunteer to serve food to others. Do you have a volunteer spirit?
A. I really wanted to show, here’s two people - they don’t have enough money to have a car, and they’re riding the bus to a soup kitchen. I wonder if the audience is going to assume that they’re going there to eat, and I wanted to flip perception and say, “hey these people who don’t have much are going to serve.” So for me personally, that super important. One of my favorite parts of my job is that I get to go to underprivileged schools and talk to kids. That’s a really really powerful part of my career.
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See the full list of 2016 Imagination Library books.
Publisher Credit:
"Last Stop on Market Street" is published by G. P. Putnam and Sons, a division of: Penguin Random House, 375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014. Used with Permission
Copyright Notice:
Text Copyright © 2015 by Matt de la Peña, Illustrations Copyright © 2015 by Christian Robinson. All rights reserved.
Dolly visited the set of Hallmark Channel's "Home & Family" with hosts Mark Steines and Cristina Ferrare. She shared some of her memories from her childhood growing up in East Tennessee. Dolly's childhood and family are the focus of the new movie, "Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors" airing on Thursday, Dec. 10 on NBC.
Cristina helped Dolly in the kitchen share her recipe for Fried Green Tomatoes from her "Dolly's Dixie Fixin's" cookbook. Before she left, Dolly and Orly Shani teamed up to show viewers how to make their very own Coat of Many Colors using treasured fabrics from their past.
At the end, Orly surprised Dolly with a little coat of many colors she had made. In true Dolly fashion, Dolly in turned surprised Orly when she put the coat on and it was a perfect fit!
See Dolly's full interview, cooking segment and crafting video on Hallmark Channel's "Home & Family" blog.
Get your own copy of "Dolly's Dixie Fixin's" cookbook above or at ImaginationLibrary.com.
Image by Curtis Hilbun
Dolly’s longtime friend and duet partner, Kenny Rogers, returned to Dollywood to help raise money and awareness for her Imagination Library, a book gifting program for kids from birth to age five. Just days after announcing his retirement on the TODAY show, Kenny sang to a sold-out crowd, giving everyone a night to remember at Dollywood’s D.P. Celebrity Theatre. Fans from around the world made their way to Pigeon Forge, TN for a chance to see “The Gambler” performing songs from his treasure chest of mega hits in an intimate setting.
During a special meet and greet before the concert, we asked Kenny what about Dolly and her Imagination Library made him want to come be a part of the benefit concert series. He said,
"You know, she’s an amazing person. She can take something and really grow it into something fantastic. She said they’ve shipped 70 million books! I think it’s a great idea. I’m glad to be a part of this and I hope it helps!"
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The autumn air of the Smokies was filled with the sweet sounds of Kenny’s hit songs throughout the park. From “Coward Of The County,” “Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love To Town,” and “The Gambler,” to “Islands In The Stream,” “Lady” and “You Can’t Make Old Friends,” the moment the ever so recognizable sounds would begin, the crowd again and again erupted in thunderous applause.
When it was time to count the money, Kenny’s performance raised over $60,000 for Dolly’s Imagination Library bringing the total raised during the benefit concert series to more than $635,000.
When Dolly heard the news, she said,
"I’m so grateful to Kenny for wanting to help my Imagination Library. He’s always been such a great friend to me and I’m so happy that he made time to come to Dollywood and I know the fans just loved it. Kenny, if you’re reading this, I want to you to know just how much I appreciate you and you know I’ll always love you!"
Families are invited to Dixie Stampede in Branson, MO, to a free, fun-filled day of games, face painting, animal exhibitions, giveaways and more. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library will come to life at the annual stick horse rodeo and family fun day, Saturday, October 3. This is a free event designed to celebrate the joy of reading among families while children enjoy riding stick horses "rodeo style" in the Dixie Stampede performance arena. Dolly said,
"My Imagination Library 'Whoadeo' is a fun event for all ages. There’s nothing better for a child’s mind than reading, so it is my hope that with each book, the child will dream more, learn more, care and be more."
"Whoadeo" will showcase kids' events including Barrel Racing, Obstacle Course, and Bucking Horse competition, astride some of the wildest steeds in the stable. They will compete on a stick horse as they race around barrels, jump over obstacles and try their best not to get "bucked" off their horse. It’s Dolly’s true belief that all children are winners, so medals will be awarded to every kid who participates. Dixie Stampede will provide stick horses or children may bring their own.
All proceeds from Dixie Stampede Dinner & Show performance that evening, Saturday, October 3, will be donated to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a book-gifting program that mails free, age-appropriate books to children from birth to age five. To date, the organization has sent over 71 million free books to children in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. Here in Missouri, there are 37 Imagination Library affiliate communities with 14,012 children enrolled in the program.
Visit Dixie Stampede for more information on Whoadeo benefiting Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
Dollywood’s D.P. Celebrity Theatre packed in an enthusiastic crowd of fans eager to hear The Band Perry perform their hits on home turf. With an intimate, acoustic setting, the vocally gifted siblings did not disappoint. Performing hit after hit, from “If I Die Young” to “Better Dig Two,” their harmonic voices were the perfect blend of what Dolly calls “blood harmony.” Kimberly even surprised the audience with her rendition of Dolly’s mega-hit song, “I’ll Always Love You,” and as you can imagine, the crowd went wild.
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Although Kimberly, Reid and Neil were all happy to be back home in East Tennessee playing for fans at Dollywood, they were also there to show their love and support of Dolly’s book gifting program for children, the Imagination Library. When asked what it was about the program that made them want to get involved, Kimberly said,
"We are big believers in Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. With Imagination Library specifically, the three of us grew up loving, loving to read. It was one of the greatest loves that we remember and some of the earliest memories that we remember."
Neil went on to say,
"You never know how it will influence you in life. For the three of us and our writing, it was a big, big factor in the way we write our songs. You never know what reading a book will do to change your life. It's a really great thing and we're glad to be a part of it."
Dolly was thrilled that The Band Perry came out to support the program. She shared,
"I'm so proud to know that my Imagination Library has had such a positive influence on Kimberly, Reid and Neil, and I appreciate them coming to Dollywood to show their love and support!"
The Band Perry gave fans an amazing night of great entertainment, and more than $75,000 was raised for the Imagination Library! If you’ve not had the pleasure of seeing this trio perform, do yourself a favor and go see them.
Check out The Band Perry’s website for show dates and times.
Dolly announced earlier this year that Dollywood was bringing back the Showcase of Stars to help raise money for her Imagination Library. She herself kicked off the series in early August with two days of concerts that raised more than $500,000.
As the final artist in Dollywood’s Showcase of Stars lineup, Dolly’s longtime friend and duet partner, Kenny Rogers, will appear in concert on Sunday, Sept. 27 at the D.P. Celebrity Theatre.
Tickets to see Kenny Rogers at the D.P. Celebrity Theatre available at Dollywood.com.
