Author Archive

Christian Robinson and I are hitting the road in October to promote our new collaboration, Carmela Full of Wishes. (**The book will be available in both Spanish and English!) In a time when folks speak openly of building walls and exclusivity, I was moved to tell the story of one young Dreamer, Carmela, who is

Writers. We are so very flawed. So human. We mess up in life. Our books never quite measure up to what we hoped they would become when we first conceived them in our heads. Or maybe it’s just me…. But what a gift to be reminded that there are real people out there, YOUNG

Carmela got her first two reviews, and they’re both STARS! One from PW and one from Kirkus. Christian and I feel so fortunate. Can’t wait to share this book with young people everywhere! Here are the reviews:  Carmela Full of Wishes — PW Matt de la Peña, illus. by Christian Robinson. It’s Carmela’s birthday,

This weekend I read a post about Love that knocked me out. It was on a taste-maker site called Brain Pickings (you can read the post here), the brainchild of Maria Popova. She is wonderfully insightful about LOVE, but I went on to read so many other posts, and I’m blown away, and at

In February, 2019, my YA Superman novel comes out. Earlier this week the cover was revealed. Here’s my statement about the project: “I’m honored to have the opportunity to contribute to one of the most iconic American storylines. What has always fascinated me most about Superman is his outsider status — a recurrent theme

Keep families together.

I’m beyond thrilled that Last Stop on Market Street has been adapted for the stage. Chicago Children’s Theatre has created a hip hop musical production of Last Stop that is open now and runs through June 3rd. After that, the musical travels to Minneapolis. You can find more details here. It’s pretty amazing to



Penguin Young Readers has just announced CARMELA FULL OF WISHES, my next picture book with illustrator Christian Robinson. This is a very special book for me (the story is set in a migrant community), and I can’t wait until folks get a look at the amazing illustrations! Here’s the press release from the publisher:

Last week I published an essay in TIME (you can read it here) in which I posed the following questions: “How honest can an author be with an auditorium full of elementary school kids? How honest should we be with our readers? Is the job of the writer for the very young to tell