Carmela Full of Wishes

Matt de la Peña is the Newbery Medal-winning author of Last Stop on Market Street. He is also the author of Love; A Nation's Hope: The Story of Boxing Legend Joe Louis; and six critically acclaimed young-adult novels. Matt teaches creative writing and visits schools and colleges throughout the country. Matt lives in Brooklyn, NY. You can visit Matt at mattdelapena.com or on Twitter @mattdelapena.Christian Robinson is a 2016 Caldecott Honoree and also received a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor for his art in Last Stop on Market Street. His picture books include the Gaston and Friends series; Leo: A Ghost Story; School's First Day of School; The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade; Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker; and many more. You can visit Christian at theartoffun.com or on Instagram @theartoffun.

Praise for Carmela Full of Wishes:An Instant New York Times BestsellerAn Amazon Most Anticipated Fall Book – Ages 3 to 5An Amazon Best of the Month Pick October 2018 – Ages 3 to 5An Amazon Editor’s Gift Pick - Ages 3 to 5A Publishers Weekly Most Anticipated Children's Book - Fall 2018A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2018A Kirkus Reviews Best Picture Book of 2018A Boston Globe Best Children’s Book of 2018Four Starred Reviews★ "The award-winning team behind Last Stop on Market Street portrays Carmela’s Spanish-speaking community as a vibrant place of possibility, and Robinson’s acrylic-and-cutout spreads introduce readers to street vendors, workers in the fields, and sweeping views of the sea. Sensitively conceived and exuberantly executed, Carmela’s story shines."—Publishers Weekly, starred review★ “Full of rich details, sharp and restrained writing, and acrylic paintings that look textured enough to rise off the page . . . Another near-perfect slice of life from a duo that has found a way to spotlight underrepresented children without forgetting that they are children first.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review ★ “Carmela’s journey of wishing, waiting, and wanting resonates on many levels; an important addition to bookshelves everywhere."—School Library Journal, starred review ★ “[A] beautiful book about the love of siblings and community. . . . A must read for everyone.”—School Library Connection, starred reviewPraise for Last Stop on Market Street:Winner of the 2016 Newbery MedalA 2016 Caldecott Honor BookA 2016 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor BookA New York Times Bestseller“It’s also the warmth of their intergenerational relationship that will make this book so satisfying, for both young readers and the adults sharing it with them.”—The New York Times Book Review ★ “This celebration of cross-generational bonding is a textual and artistic tour de force.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review“That material poverty need not mean spiritual or imaginative poverty becomes beautifully clear in the quietly moving pages of ‘Last Stop on Market Street,” a picture book by Matt de la Peña filled with Christian Robinson’s vibrant naïf illustrations.”—The Wall Street Journal★ “Like still waters, de la Peña and Robinson’s story runs deep. It finds beauty in unexpected places, explores the difference between what’s fleeting and what lasts, acknowledges inequality, and testifies to the love shared by an African-American boy and his grandmother.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review“Matt de la Peña’s warmhearted story is musical in its cadences…Christian Robinson’s angular, bright illustrations are energetic and vibrant... [A] celebration of the joys of service, the gifts of grandmothers and the tenderness that the city can contain.”—The Washington Post★ “De la Peña and Robinson here are carrying on for Ezra Jack Keats in spirit and visual style. This quietly remarkable book will likely inspire questions… it will also have some adult readers reaching for a tissue.”—The Horn Book, starred review“The sharp illustrations — in bold, and cheerful primaries — get CJ’s restless energy and curious postures exactly right. The voices of CJ and his grandmother carry the story along in subtle point and counterpoint so that at this book’s quiet close you feel like you’ve been listening to a song.”—The Boston Globe★ “With the precision of a poet, Matt de la Peña chronicles a boy's heartwarming Sunday morning routine with his nana. Christian Robinson's uplifting palette and culturally diverse cast brightens the rainy-day backdrop.”—Shelf Awareness, starred review