KCK Public Library brings award-winning book to life on board bus

The magic of children’s author Matt de la Peña’s Newbery award winning Last Stop on Market Street comes to life on a RideKC bus in a video released by Kansas City, Kansas Public Library (KCKPL). Last Stop On Market Street is the story of a boy and his grandmother who take a bus across town after church. The energetic ride through a bustling city highlights the wonderful perspective only grandparent and grandchild can share, and comes to life through Matt de la Peña’s vibrant text and Christian Robinson’s radiant illustrations. 

The video features de la Peña reading his book to a group of children from Quindaro Elementary while riding a RideKC bus. As he reads, actors from MeltingPot Theatre and Arrowhead Middle School, portraying the book characters, board the bus for a live-action depiction of the story. This video, filmed on September 16, 2016, was part of KCKPL’s Stories on the Bus program and the annual Library in the Park celebration.  Stories on the Bus was conceived by KCKPL as a way to use stories to connect the community through surprise pop-up storytimes on RideKC busses.  The Last Stop on Market Street live-action storytime was the culmination of the series. 

“Last Stop on Market Street teaches us what it means to open our minds and our hearts to perceive the world around us as what it can be, not just as it is, and to be a better witness for what’s beautiful,” said Outreach Librarian Louisa Whitfield-Smith. “Filming the video was a really exciting opportunity to do something with a sense of wonder and fun for the awesome kids in our community.”

“One of the coolest parts of today is that I got to watch the book come to life. I love reading my books to kids because I feel like it's one thing to read a book; it's another thing to get the music of the text,” said author Matt de la Peña. “That’s kind of the dream of any author.”

The storytime and video are the result of a collaboration between KCKPL and RideKC.

“RideKC was honored to take part in this project with the Kansas City, Kansas Public Library,” said Public Affairs Manager Bridget Moss. “In Matt de la Peña’s Last Stop on Market Street, a boy learns to see the beauty and magic in the ordinary world. Riding the bus becomes a way to experience more of life, not less. KCKPL found a creative way to reach out to citizens, young and old, through this live performance of Last Stop on Market, and through the surprise storytimes over the summer.”

Last Stop on Market Street was written by Matt de la Pena and illustrated by Christian Robinson. The book has won multiple literary awards, including:

• Winner of the 2016 Newbery Medal
• A 2016 Caldecott Honor Book
• A 2016 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book

The book is available at local libraries and book stores.