Last Stop on Market Street

K-Gr 3—Winner of the 2016 Newbery Medal, as well as numerous other awards, this picture book by Matt de la Peña receives a lovely treatment in this video presentation. Arnell Powell reads the deceptively simple text, which follows CJ and his grandmother as they take the bus through their diverse neighborhood after church. CJ is not content with his lot (he wishes he was in a car instead), and he uses the opportunity to complain just a little. His grandmother, however, sees beauty around her and finds joy in small experiences, gradually helping CJ do the same. She teaches her grandson to be grateful and to enjoy what he has. Their final destination is, in itself, a lesson in counting your blessings: serving food at a soup kitchen. The book is warm and rich, and this video presentation, with its simple animation of Christian Robinson's blocky, expressive, and poignant illustrations, gives viewers the chance to savor every moment. It allows for a close examination of the small details of urban life—details that might be missed from a casual reading of the book itself.