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From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)

As he and his nana take the bus across town, observant young CJ is full of questions and more than a little wishful thinking: Why don’t they have a car instead of having to take the bus? Why do they always have to go somewhere after church? How come that man sitting near them can’t see? Why is the neighborhood where they get off the bus so dirty? In response, his nana points out everything they would miss if they weren’t right where they were at each moment, from the interesting people they get to see and meet, to the realization that beauty can be found everywhere. Rather than telling CJ about what community means, she’s showing him that he’s a part of it. After an event-filled ride, they arrive at their destination. “I’m glad we came,” CJ says looking at the familiar faces in the window of the soup kitchen where they both volunteer. Wonderful descriptive writing (“The bus creaked to a stop in front of them. It sighed and sagged and the doors swung open.”), and abundant, child-centered details propel an engaging picture book set against illustrations that have a naïve quality while reflecting the energy, vibrancy, and diversity of a contemporary city. Honor Book, 2016 Charlotte Zolotow Award (Ages 3–8)

CCBC Choices 2016 © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2016. Used with permission.

From School Library Journal

April 1, 2017
K-Gr 2-It's Sunday and CJ skips down the church steps followed by Nana. No sooner do they reach the bus stop when it begins to rain. This makes CJ cranky and full of questions during their ride: why does it have to rain; why can't they own a car; why is that man blind. Gentle, wise Nana uses the opportunities that present themselves during their journey to Market Street to teach CJ that interacting and helping others make life fuller, especially as beautifully depicted on the final page. The combination of Christian Robinson's award-winning illustrations, a subtle yet powerful story line, and audio may cultivate pay-it-forward conversations even among the youngest readers.

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

From School Library Journal

February 1, 2017

APPRECIATING DIVERSITY; PERSPECTIVE-TAKING; SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

From School Library Journal

Starred review from August 1, 2015

Gr K-2-In this beautiful, magical tribute to an intergenerational relationship between a boy and his grandmother, CJ and his Nana take the bus home after church on Sundays, unlike some of his friends, who jump in their family cars and drive away. CJ's envy is understandable, but Nana's positive outlook on the many advantages of their journey soon influences CJ to view his trip differently. A man with a guitar on the bus provides a concert that certainly can't compare to listening to music on a car radio. When CJ wonders why a blind man can't see, Nana reminds him that "some people watch the world with their ears." Nana's commentary inspires CJ and listeners to find the beauty in the mundane and the treasure in the trivial. This gem is enhanced by Lizan Mitchell's sensitive narration, inviting listeners to take a seat behind CJ and Nana until they reach their stop. VERDICT This is an essential addition to any library that values diversity and fresh perspective.-Terri Perper, Olney Elementary School, MD

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

From Horn Book

Starred review from March 1, 2015
CJ, a young black boy, has a flurry of questions for his grandmother one rainy day: "How come we gotta wait for the bus in all this wet?" "How come we don't got a car?" "How come we always gotta go here after church?" Only at book's end do readers learn that "here" is a soup kitchen in a hardscrabble part of town ("How come it's always so dirty over here?") where CJ and Nana work every Sunday. Nana has a bottomless supply of look-on-the-sunny-side answers ("Sometimes when you're surrounded by dirt, CJ, you're a better witness for what's beautiful"), but she isn't dispensing bromides; the economical, exquisitely composed collage illustrations showing the pair in a glamour-free urban setting forbid a glib reading. CJ and Nana develop a fellowship with the bus driver, Mr. Dennis, and with the other passengers (a blind man and his dog; an old woman holding a jar of butterflies; a man playing the guitar), and it takes just a gentle nudge from Nana for CJ to unhesitatingly drop the coin Mr. Dennis gave him into the musician's hat. De la Pena and Robinson here are carrying on for Ezra Jack Keats in spirit and visual style. This quietly remarkable book will likely inspire questions of a sort less practical-minded than CJ's; it will also have some adult readers reaching for a tissue. nell beram

(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

From Booklist

February 1, 2015
Preschool-G CJ and his nana depart church and make it to the bus stop just in time to avoid an oncoming rain shower. They board the bus, and while CJ is full of questions and complaints (why don't they have a car? why must they make this trip every week? and so forth), Nana's resolute responses articulate the glories of their rich, vibrant life in the city, as presented by the bus' passengers and passages. A tattooed man checks his cell phone. An older woman keeps butterflies in a jar. A musician tunes and plays his guitar. At last the pair arrive at the titular destination and proceed to the soup kitchen where, upon recognizing friendly faces, CJ is glad they came to help. Robinson's bright, simple, multicultural figures, with their rounded heads, boxy bodies, and friendly expressions, contrast nicely with de la Pea's lyrical language, establishing a unique tone that reflects both CJ's wonder and his nana's wisdom. The celebratory warmth is irresistible, offering a picture of community that resonates with harmony and diversity.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

From Kirkus

Starred review from November 1, 2014
A young boy yearns for what he doesn't have, but his nana teaches him to find beauty in what he has and can give, as well as in the city where they live. CJ doesn't want to wait in the rain or take the bus or go places after church. But through Nana's playful imagination and gentle leadership, he begins to see each moment as an opportunity: Trees drink raindrops from straws; the bus breathes fire; and each person has a story to tell. On the bus, Nana inspires an impromptu concert, and CJ's lifted into a daydream of colors and light, moon and magic. Later, when walking past broken streetlamps on the way to the soup kitchen, CJ notices a rainbow and thinks of his nana's special gift to see "beautiful where he never even thought to look." Through de la Pena's brilliant text, readers can hear, feel and taste the city: its grit and beauty, its quiet moments of connectedness. Robinson's exceptional artwork works with it to ensure that readers will fully understand CJ's journey toward appreciation of the vibrant, fascinating fabric of the city. Loosely defined patterns and gestures offer an immediate and raw quality to the Sasek-like illustrations. Painted in a warm palette, this diverse urban neighborhood is imbued with interest and possibility. This celebration of cross-generational bonding is a textual and artistic tour de force. (Picture book. 3-6)

COPYRIGHT(2014) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

From School Library Journal

November 1, 2014

K-Gr 2-After church on Sundays, CJ and his nana wait for the bus. It's a familiar routine, but this week CJ is feeling dissatisfied. As they travel to their destination, the boy asks a series of questions: "How come we gotta wait for the bus in all this wet?" "Nana, how come we don't got a car?" "How come we always gotta go here after church?" CJ is envious of kids with cars, iPods, and more freedom than he has. With each question, Nana points out something for CJ to appreciate about his life: "Boy, what do we need a car for? We got a bus that breathes fire." These gentle admonishments are phrased as questions or observations rather than direct answers so that CJ is able to take ownership of his feelings. After they exit the bus, CJ wonders why this part of town is so run-down, prompting Nana to reply, "Sometimes when you're surrounded by dirt, CJ, you're a better witness for what's beautiful." The urban setting is truly reflective, showing people with different skin colors, body types, abilities, ages, and classes in a natural and authentic manner. Robinson's flat, blocky illustrations are simple and well composed, seemingly spare but peppered with tiny, interesting details. Ultimately, their destination is a soup kitchen, and CJ is glad to be there. This is an excellent book that highlights less popular topics such as urban life, volunteerism, and thankfulness, with people of color as the main characters. A lovely title.-Anna Haase Krueger, Ramsey County Library, MN

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

From Publisher's Weekly

Starred review from October 27, 2014
Like still waters, de la Peña (A Nation's Hope) and Robinson's (Gaston) 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.
On Sunday, CJ and Nana don't go home after church like everybody else. Instead, they wait for the Market Street bus. "How come we don't got a car?" CJ complains. Like many children his age, CJ is caught up in noticing what other people have and don't have; de la Peña handles these conversations with grace. "Boy, what do we need a car for?" she responds. "We got a bus that breathes fire, and old Mr. Dennis, who always has a trick for you." (The driver obliges by pulling a coin out of CJ's ear.) When CJ wishes for a fancy mobile music device like the one that two boys at the back of the bus share, Nana points out a passenger with a guitar. "You got the real live thing sitting across from you." The man begins to play, and CJ closes his eyes. "He was lost in the sound and the sound gave him the feeling of magic." When the song's over, the whole bus applauds, "even the boys in the back." Nana, readers begin to sense, brings people together wherever she goes.
Robinson's paintings contribute to the story's embrace of simplicity. His folk-style figures come in a rainbow of shapes and sizes, his urban landscape accented with flying pigeons and the tracery of security gates and fire escapes. At last, CJ and Nana reach their destination-the neighborhood soup kitchen. Nana's ability to find "beautiful where he never even thought to look" begins to work on CJ as the two spot people they've come to know. "I'm glad we came," he tells her. Earlier, Nana says that life in the deteriorated neighborhood makes people "a better witness for what's beautiful." This story has the same effect. Ages 3—5. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House.

From AudioFile Magazine

Author Matt de la Pe—a and narrator Lizan Mitchell are a winning combination in this story of CJ, an African-American boy and his Nana as they take the bus after Sunday church. Mitchell inhabits both CJ and his grandma from the moment he pushes through the church doors and questions why they must take a rickety bus while others have cars. She replies, "We don't need a car; we have a bus that breathes fire." Mitchell's spirited recitation of "The bus lurched forward and stopped, lurched forward and stopped" ensures that young listeners can vividly imagine the action. Each of CJ's complaints is met with Nana's warmly rendered clever and fun alternatives. Audio is the ideal way for kids to experience this emotive gem. S.G.B. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine