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A Gratitude book for Kids on up

This gratitude book for children shares a story of a grandmother helping her grandson see the world around him through new eyes and ears.  

Last Stop on Market Street was written by Matt de la Pena and illustrated by Christian Robinson.  It is the winner of the 2016 Newbery Medal as well as being a  2016 Caldecott Honor book, and  Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor book.

Gratitude Book - Summary of Last stop on Market Street

It begins...

CJ pushed through the church doors,

skipped down the steps. 

The outside air smelled like freedom,

but it also smelled like rain,

which freckled CJ's shirt and dripped down his nose.

Like many children after being still in church, CJ rushes outside to freedom to wiggle.  What he doesn't know yet is he is about to learn church goes beyond the building in an amazing way!

CJ complains to his grandmother about having to walk in the rain because they don't have a car.  They ride on the bus and CJ complains about his friends not having to go where he goes every Sunday after church.  He envies two boys listening to music as they enter the bus.

For every complaint CJ has, Nana has a different view...a better view.  She demonstrates gratitude for what they do have.  The rain waters the trees.  The bus "breathes fire".  And one of the men on the bus begins playing a guitar.

A blind man encourages CJ to close his eyes as he listens to the music. "And in the darkness, the rhythm lifted CJ out of the bus, out of the busy city."  He begins thinking about the little blessings of life he had overlooked.

After leaving the bus, CJ is still complaining about how dirty the city is.  Nana continues to give wisdom and says - 

"Sometimes whey you're surrounded by dirt, CJ, you're a better witness for what's beautiful."

The last stop on market street ends up being a soup kitchen.  Nana and CJ left the church building to become the church serving.  Along the way, CJ learns a lesson on gratitude and appreciating all that's good around him.

Important Highlights

  • Gratitude & contentment - being thankful for what we do have and not wishing for what we don't have.
  • Serving others around us takes our eyes off our own circumstances and makes us more grateful while also bringing us joy.
  • Kids need a community of family pouring into them like grandparents and their church family who set the example as they follow Jesus.

Lessons & Activities for Gratitude Book

Bible Lessons

CJ complained a lot, but Nana showed him how to turn a negative into a positive.  The Bible tells us -

"Do everything without complaining and arguing,"  Philippians 2:14 is a short simple verse to memorize.

Going to church and being the church are two different things.  

This book offers a great opportunity to discuss this difference.  We go to church to worship together and fellowship with other believers.  Jesus went to the Temple often to worship. 

Daily though He looked for people He could serve and love. 

"For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  Matthew 20:28

Jesus set a beautiful example of love for us.  Take time to think of people in your life and ways to serve them out of love.  Be The Church.  :)

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”   John 13:34-35

 The Story of Zacchaeus is a wonderful illustration of Jesus showing love and kindness when no one else would.  


Fun Activities for This Gratitude Book

  1. Explore music with your eyes closed like CJ.  Talk about the things the music brought to mind.  What are other things we may hear around us that are beautiful?
  2. Count Your Blessings Game - Have one person say - "I am thankful for..."  The next person repeats what others before them said and then add a new "I am thankful for..."  See if they can make it to the last person and remember them all.  To make this more difficult for older children, have the first person say they are thankful for something that begins with the letter A, the next will use the letter B, etc.
  3. ART - Make Stained Glass Windows -Tear colored tissue paper into small pieces and place between two sheets of clear contact paper.  Cut into different shapes and hang in a window.  For each color, have kids think of something that color for which they are thankful.  Let these be reminders to be thankful and not complain.

Intellectual

  • As you read this gratitude book, allow children to predict where Nana and CJ may be going.  Prediction is a higher level thinking skill which will challenge them.
  • Nana speaks about three characters earlier in the book - Bobo, Sunglass Man & Trixie.  See if the kids can pick out who these are in the illustrations at the end.
  • The illustrations are also very colorful; for younger children a game of I spy something (a certain color) would be fun and an opportunity to be thankful we can see.
  • For older children, have them recount the things CJ complained about.  How did Nana help him learn to appreciate each?
  • Emerging Readers:   If you have an emerging reader, read it once to them; then read again together allowing them to read words they know or can sound out.
  • Word pictures:  Discuss the many word pictures such as "smelled like freedom" or "freckled CJ's shirt"; ask what they think these mean.
  • Vocabulary enrichment:  This book is rich in vocabulary.  Think of synonyms for words such as "skipped", "patter", "sagged", "zip", etc.

Emotional

Our attitude is a choice that can be changed by our perspective.

CJ saw things negatively.  Once he changed the way he looked at the world, he learned to appreciate it and be grateful.

Take time to make a list of things for which they can be thankful.  Hang this list somewhere it can be seen each day to make a point to give thanks for at least a few of them and remember the story of this little gratitude book.


Social

Appreciating others for who they are.  

The illustrations in this gratitude book include a variety of people of various races, ages, social backgrounds and even handicaps.  There is the blind man, others in wheel chairs, a homeless person pushing a cart and a man covered with tatoos.

List things that make each character special as they look at the illustrations.

Showing manners & kindness to all people.

Nana models kindness and politeness to others while CJ follows her actions.  

Make a list of city workers such as bus drivers, police, firemen, sanitation workers, and others who help us each day.  Purposefully tell these thank you as you see them or even write them a thank you note to hand them.

Physical

Take a walk in your community wearing "magic sunglasses" that help you look with new eyes seeing the needs of others or things to be thankful for.

Gratitude Book
Read Aloud by the Author:

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