- Born:
- February 9, 1974?, San Diego county, California, U.S.
- Awards And Honors:
- Newbery Medal (2016)
Matt de la PeƱa
-
Who is Matt de la PeƱa?
Matt de la PeƱa, born in San Diego County, California, is an American author known for his novels for young adults and picture books for young children. His stories often feature racially and economically diverse characters.
De la PeƱa's father is a first-generation American with Mexican immigrant grandparents, and his mother is white and was raised in foster care. He earned a basketball scholarship to the University of the Pacific and later completed a masterās degree in creative writing at San Diego State University.
His breakthrough came with Last Stop on Market Street, which won the Newbery Medal in 2016 and reached number one on The New York Times bestseller list. His other notable works include Mexican WhiteBoy and Love.
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What types of books does Matt de la PeƱa write?
Matt de la PeƱa is an American author known for writing young adult novels and picture books for young children. His books often feature characters of racial and economic diversity.
De la PeƱa's young adult novels often center on underprivileged teenagers, with his first book, Ball Donāt Lie, published in 2005. His picture books include the Newbery Medal-winning Last Stop on Market Street (2015), Love (2018), and Milo Imagines the World (2021).
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What is Matt de la PeƱa known for in children's literature?
Matt de la PeƱa is an American author known for his inclusive novels for young adults and picture books for young children. His stories often feature characters of diverse racial and economic backgrounds.
De la PeƱa's picture book, Last Stop on Market Street, which follows a boy and his grandmother riding the bus on a Sunday morning, earned him the Newbery Medal in 2016. He has also made The New York Times bestseller list with Love, Carmela Full of Wishes, and Milo Imagines the World.
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Which of his books has won important awards?
Matt de la PeƱa won the Newbery Medal in 2016 for his picture book, Last Stop on Market Street. Illustrated by Christian Robinson, the book follows a boy and his grandmother riding the bus one Sunday morning and reached number one on The New York Times bestseller list. His other books include Coco: Miguel and the Grand Harmony (2017), Love (2018), Carmela Full of Wishes (2018), Milo Imagines the World (2021), Patchwork (2022), and The Perfect Place (2024).
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How do Matt de la PeƱa's personal experiences influence his stories?
Matt de la PeƱa's stories are influenced by his background, often featuring characters of diverse racial and economic backgrounds. He was born to teenage parents and grew up in a working-class, mixed-race family; his father was a first-generation American with Mexican immigrant grandparents, and his mother was white and raised in foster care.
De la PeƱa's young adult novels often center on underprivileged teenagers, such as Sticky in Ball Donāt Lie, a foster kid and star basketball player, and Danny in Mexican WhiteBoy, who struggles to fit in as half Mexican and half white. His picture books, such as Last Stop on Market Street, also reflect this influence.
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What impact has Matt de la PeƱa had on young readers and diversity in literature?
Matt de la PeƱa significantly impacts young readers and diversity in literature through his novels and picture books featuring characters of diverse racial and economic backgrounds. His book Last Stop on Market Street, which follows a boy and his grandmother riding a bus, won the Newbery Medal in 2016 and topped The New York Times bestseller list. PeƱa also produced Coco: Miguel and the Grand Harmony with Disney, and his book Love describes the different ways affection can be experienced. His urban adventure books, such as Carmela Full of Wishes and Milo Imagines the World, also made The New York Times bestseller list.
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Matt de la PeƱa (born February 9, 1974?, San Diego county, California, U.S.) is an American author who writes novels for young adults and picture books for young children. His books often include characters of racial and economic diversity. De la PeƱa was awarded the Newbery Medal in 2016 for his second picture book, Last Stop on Market Street (2015).
Early life and education
De la PeƱa was born between the years 1973 and 1975 to teenage parents. He grew up in a working-class mixed-race family: his father is a first-generation American whose grandparents illegally immigrated to the United States from Mexico, and his mother is white and was raised in foster care. De la PeƱa earned a basketball scholarship to the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, where he earned a bachelorās degree. He went on to complete a masterās degree in creative writing at San Diego State University.
First young adult novels
De la PeƱaās writing career began with young adult novels that often center on underprivileged teenagers. He published his first book, Ball Donāt Lie, in 2005. The book is about Sticky, a foster kid who is a star basketball player. It was made into a movie in 2008. De la PeƱaās next book was Mexican WhiteBoy (2008), which tells the story of Danny, who is half Mexican and half white and has a hard time fitting into either world. In the novel We Were Here (2009), Miguel commits a crime and is sentenced to write a journal, the entries of which describe his symbolic journey of self-discovery and, ultimately, forgiveness. In I Will Save You (2010), Kidd runs away from his group home in order to spend the summer working at the beach, where he develops meaningful relationships.
First picture book, The Living, and The Hunted
In 2011 De la PeƱa published his first picture book, A Nationās Hope: The Story of Boxing Legend Joe Louis, which describes the African American boxerās 1938 fight against German boxer Max Schmeling. The book was illustrated by Kadir Nelson. De la PeƱa then returned to young adult novels with The Living (2013), a thriller following Shy, who struggles to survive while adrift at sea after the cruise ship he was working on is destroyed in a tsunami. Shy returns in the sequel, The Hunted (2015), in which he and his friends try to deliver to the proper authorities a vaccine for a deadly engineered disease.
Last Stop on Market Street and other picture books
De la PeƱaās breakthrough came with Last Stop on Market Street, which was illustrated by Christian Robinson and follows a boy and his grandmother as they ride the bus one Sunday morning. In addition to receiving the Newbery Medal, the book reached number one on The New York Times bestseller list. De la PeƱa then teamed with Disney to produce Coco: Miguel and the Grand Harmony (2017), an original story based on the characters from the Disney/Pixar animated film Coco (2017) and illustrated with drawings by Pixar artist Ana RamĆrez. De la PeƱaās next picture book, Love (2018), illustrated by Loren Long, describes many ways that affection can be experienced. It too reached the top of the The New York Times bestseller list. Also making the list were the urban adventure books Carmela Full of Wishes (2018) and Milo Imagines the World (2021), both of which include drawings by Robinson and follow the title characters as they traverse the city with an elder sibling. De la PeƱaās other picture books from the early 2020s include Patchwork (2022), illustrated by Corinna Luyken, and The Perfect Place (2024), with drawings by Paola Escobar.
Other books and marriage
De la PeƱa also authored books for a number of series, including Curse of the Ancients (2013) and Eternity (2014), which are books 4 and 8 of the Infinity Ring series, as well as Superman: Dawnbreaker (2019), which tells the coming-of-age story of Clark Kent as part of the DC Icons series. De la PeƱa married Caroline Sun in 2011, and they have two children, Luna and Miguel.