KCKPL's Stories on the Bus: Matt de la Peña reads Last Stop on Market Street (2017)

Based on the Newbery Award (2016) winning book, "Last Stop on Market Street" is about a boy (CJ) and his grandmother (Nana) taking the public bus after Sunday services to a communal meal. The Kansas City Kansas Public Library, RideKC, and a film crew hosted approximately twenty children from Kansas City, Kansas's Quindaro Elementary School on a public transit bus ride to culminate in a community meal at the public library. Quindaro Townsite was a booming river port, established by abolitionists in the 1850s, to serve as a depot for the Underground Railroad. Today the area surrounding the Quindaro ruins is one of the most depressed communities in the Kansas City metropolis. While its impoverished economy and demographic balance is out of proportion with neighboring communities, Quindaro is rich with ethnic collaborations between racial, educational, and religious divides to discover grace and hope among what is often dismissed as unsalvageable ruins. Through the duration of our bus ride, "Last Stop on Market Street," is read by its award-winning author, Matt de la Peña. The film animates the book's beautiful illustrations by award-winning Christian Robinson to help reveal the story. The RideKC bus has a schedule to keep, yet the show must go on. Magically, Mr. Dennis, our bus driver, stops the bus so that CJ, Nana, and the other diverse characters can hop on board to share our ride. This warm story, with beautiful smiles, and illustrations that transcend boundaries. is presented in this short film that crosses multiple genre categories.