The most prestigious prizes in American children's books were recently awarded, including the John Newbery Medal for literature.Matt de la Peña became the first Hispanic author to win the Newbery, for his book Last Stop on Market Street, illustrated by Christian Robinson. It's the story of a young boy riding the city bus with his grandmother, and wondering why their family doesn't have a car. Last Stop was also awarded a 2016 Caldecott Honor and a 2016 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book.
Matt has been a guest of the CHCCS Blue Ribbon Mentor-Advocates’ Summer Writing Institute twice in recent years – 2012 and 2014. He shared with students his amazing literary skills along with his passion for writing. We are fortunate to have great guests like Matt investing our students.
"Working with Matt de la Peña opened my creative horizons to an extent that has even impacted my scholar writing,” said Gabby Dimate. “Matt remind me once again why I love writing.”
A native Californian, Matt attended college on a basketball scholarship and now resides in Brooklyn. He teaches creative writing courses at New York University.