Author Archive



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

Beginning January 9, 2018, Loren Long and I will be hitting the road to promote our new picture book, LOVE. We are so excited to share this book with you all. Below is a list of all the cities and bookstores we’ll be visiting (click links for more details). Hope you’ll join us to

Loren Long and I made a video about our forthcoming picture book, LOVE, coming January 9th. We’d love for you to check it out!!

The Kansas City, Kansas Public Library made Last Stop come alive for some amazing kids last fall. It’s an experience I will never forget. And now there’s video! Check it out here. By the way, I was playing hurt. Real sick that day. But we pushed through and made it happen and then I

A video of my Newbery speech is now up on YouTube. You can see me hop off stage and hand the medal to my mom. (She went for the hug, but I was in a slight daze and accidentally left her hanging). And you can see me get choked up here and there (though

I’m thrilled to be honored by NCTE with the 2016 Intellectual Freedom Award. It means the world to me. Below is the official press release.           Urbana, Illinois – NCTE honors Matt de la Peña for his courage in standing up for intellectual freedom with the NCTE National Intellectual Freedom Award, given

Last stop on Market Street has been awarded the 2016 Newbery Medal! I’m stunned and humbled and incredibly proud of this book (illustrated by the great Christian Robinson). Last Stop was also awarded a 2016 Caldecott Honor and a 2016 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book. Here’s the cover with all those shiny new

So many of my favorite authors and educators will be in Minneapolis this week for NCTE and ALAN. Here’s where I will be:         Thursday, Nov 19 12 – 4pm — Diversity in Children’s Literature: One Year Later (My panel is from 2:05-3:20) Minneapolis Convention Center 101H Program Description: This session