Earlier this week, as part of the American Library Association's Youth Media Awards, Matt de la Peña (Mexican WhiteBoy; The Living; The Hunted) won the 2016 Newbery Medal for his writing in the picture book Last Stop on Market Street (Putnam), illustrated by Christian Robinson.
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Often in picture books it's the children teaching adults to find the beauty in the things around them... here it's the other way around. Do you see a lot of kids like CJ who need a nudging in this direction?
"I see it all the time. Because of my novels, I go into a lot of underprivileged schools across the country. I'm face to face with a lot of kids who ask me, 'Why would you come to this school?' I say, 'I have to tell you it's because your world is amazing and beautiful.' I almost have to prove to them they are worthy of having an author come to visit them."
De la Peña added:
"The thing I heard that hit me the hardest and made me a little emotional today was that this was the first time a Hispanic won the Newbery Medal, even though it's a group of people who've been writing forever. It feels like in a way I was collecting an award for all of us.
"We're taught how to view ourselves in the media--when you look at TV and in movies--and too often, in general, a young kid isn't thinking, 'I'm the hero of this kind of story.' This book shows kids they can be the hero of the story. Here's a book with a kid who lives where you live and has a grandma like you have and takes the bus like you do. And it has a Newbery sticker on it."
You can read our full interview with Matt de la Peña here.