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CJ’s journey with his Nana is not just a simple bus ride; it is a multi-sensory experience through which he discovers that beautiful music, nature and people surround him. CJ’s questions are familiar, and Nana answers him with gentle wisdom. Right up until their arrival at the last stop on Market Street, Nana guides CJ to become “a better witness for what’s beautiful.”
“Read it aloud to someone. The use of language to elicit questions, to spark imagination and to make us laugh is at its best when spoken,” said Newbery Medal Committee Chair Ernie J. Cox.
Why did the committee pick LAST STOP ON MARKET STREET? I’ve heard that question asked many times these past couple of days. The press release is the only official record we have of their justification, but perhaps together we can tease out some additional strengths of the book.
If you hadn’t read LAST STOP ON MARKET STREET when it won the Newbery Medal on Monday morning, I hope you’ve had a chance to track it down, and if like me you actually had read it and hadn’t examined it carefully against the Newbery criteria, I hope you’ve had a chance to revisit the book. I must admit that I had some baggage on my first reading, since I had spent quite a bit of time last year with another excellent
book about a boy and his grandmother.
We’ve said this before, but since comparing a relatively spare picture book text with a more verbose middle grade novel is the epitome of comparing apples to oranges, it’s often much more helpful to compare them against the ideal texts in their respective genres. Thus, our thinking about LAST STOP ON MARKET STREET might be (a) how does this picture book text compare to all other picture book texts published this year, and (b) how does this picture book text compare to the most perfect picture book text (that exists as an ideal realized in our head; that is, we don’t need to compare it to WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE, etc), and finally (c) does it achieve distinction and excellence in its respective genre as much or more than other books?
With such a short text, I think most people expect gorgeous lyricism from the prose, and while I think that might be an unrealistic expectation for any picture book, I definitely think this one has a nice rhythm and cadence that lends itself to reading aloud. I also notice several instances of metaphor, simile, alliteration, and personification that enhance the text. The more I read this one, the more the style of the prose grows on me. I haven’t read it with children yet, like Rachel did, but would welcome the additional feedback from those who have.
While the plot is fairly straightforward, it does obfuscate the final destination. The main characters, CJ and his nana, are drawn very nicely for such a brief text. But while plot and character are solid, theme is really the area where I think this book shines the brightest. Nana is such a wonderful character–“[CJ] wondered how his nana always found beautiful where he never even thought to look”–and she is the pulsing heart of this book, thematically. She’s the real deal.
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