The Lower School enjoyed an afternoon of stories yesterday with New York Times bestselling, Newbery Medal-winning author Matt de la Peña. During a special Gathering, he told students the inspiring tales of how he became a writer, where he got ideas for celebrated books like 2015's Last Stop on Market Street, how he and illustrators collaborate, and what his dreams are for young people and the world.
"It's kind of strange to stand in front of you as a writer, because I wasn't always the best writer in school. I wasn't always the best reader in school," de la Peña said at the beginning of his talk.
The writer grew up in San Diego, close to the Mexican border. He dabbled in spoken word and poetry as a teenager, but said he was much more focused on sports than words as a youngster. A strong basketball player, he received an athletic scholarship to University of the Pacific, becoming the first in his family to go to college. When he began to realize that his athletic journey likely wouldn't continue beyond school, he began to explore his other interests.
That's when he fell in love with books and reading.
"It's a bummer I didn't discover the power of literature when I was younger," de la Peña said. Finally doing so was "the best thing that's ever happened to me."
The writer eventually completed an MFA in creative writing from San Diego State University, and sometime after that, the stories began to pour out of him—stories informed by his Mexican-American heritage, by the places and people of his childhood, by his strong desire to share different perspectives and promote inclusion, respect, and love for one another.
"If there's one thing that I wish this world had a little more of it's love," he said.
To date, de la Peña has penned seven young adult novels and five picture books, including Ball Don't Lie, A Nation's Hope-The Story of Boxing Legend Joe Louis, and Carmela Full of Wishes. Many have landed on best-book lists, and Last Stop on Market Street—about finding beauty everywhere on a bus ride through the city—earned a Newbery Medal, a Caldecott Honor, and a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor.
De la Peña gave students a unique behind-the-scenes glimpse of his 2018 picture book Love. The book explores love's evolution as we grow up and, through its depictions of children of varying races, socio-economic statuses, family structures, hometowns, and so on, shows the ways it bonds us all. No matter where we're from or what our background may be, de la Peña said, we all share that we love.
The project started with a poem the author wrote, but de la Peña demonstrated how it came to four-color life as he collaborated with illustrator Loren Long. He showed how the text and images on one particular spread changed over time as the creative influence of one artist sparked the other in a new direction, and how this back-and-forth ultimately shaped the story into the beautiful final product.
"Collaboration is the most important skill to have as a creator," de la Peña said.
The writer then read the book to students and asked for their interpretations. As he focused on one the book's final illustrations—of a girl looking at herself in the mirror—he said, "I truly don't believe you can go out into the world and do something great until you love yourself."
De la Peña signed copies of books for students before it was time for him to head back home to Brooklyn, where he lives with his family. The afternoon passed quickly, but students'—and teachers'—enthusiasm buzzed through the halls long after his departure.
Lower School librarian Evelyn Schwartz organized the event after learning that the author would be in town this spring to visit the nearby Landon School, and she was thrilled with his talk. "We chose to invite him since our fifth graders had just read Last Stop on Market Street when discussing past Caldecott and Newbery winners," she said. "We thought his book was so moving, powerful, yet sweet and simple, and it was incredible to hear him tell some of the stories behind this and his other books."
Students agreed. "It was so fun to learn about an author's life," said one.
"And how his background made its way into his books," added another.
"And to hear more about the purpose of his books!" chimed another.
"I think the visit was a treat for both students and teachers," said Academic Technology Coordinator Lucia Hassell.
"My students just loved it," said third-grade teacher Julia Post. She did, too. "I loved how funny he was and very age-appropriate, but how he talked about very big themes like how to love people, what it means, and how that can change over time. I also loved the emphasis on collaboration—that you can't have creativity without it. This really ties into what we do here."
