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Matt de la Pena
Mexican American author of young adult novels -- mostly for high school students & two children's books
Bio
Author Interview on NPR -- Focuses on his novel, The Living
http://www.npr.org/2013/11/23/246380621/even-on-the-water-class-remains-in-sessionde la Pena grew up in National City, California, a town close to the Mexican border. He refers to himself as a mixed kid – his mom is white, and his dad is Mexican. He remembers not feeling “Mexican enough” throughout his life. Then, when he left for college, he felt like a “sell out.” He notes that so few people in his community went to college, so he felt a little like he was betraying his community by doing so. Growing up, basketball was the center of his life, even more so than school. His mom’s policy was that as long as he maintained a 3.0 GPA, she would leave him alone about basketball. So, that’s exactly what he did. He maintained that GPA but never tried to raise it. He also describes himself as a reluctant reader, noting he only read Basketball Digest and never finished an entire novel until college. Find out more about his background in the video below.
Literary Works: Books!
• Ball Don't Lie (2005) Named a 2006 ALA-YALSA Best Book for Young Adults and an ALA-YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers, and was developed into a motion picture in 2008 featuring Ludacris, Nick Cannon, and Emilie de Ravin
• Mexican White Boy (2008) Named a 2009 ALA-YALSA Best Books for Young Adults (Top Ten Pick), and was featured on the 2008 Bulletin for the Center of Children's Literature Blue Ribbon List.
• We Were Here (2009) Named a 2010 ALA-YALSA Best Book for Young Adults, a 2010 ALA-YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers
• I Will Save You (2010) Named a 2011 ALA-YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers and a Junior Library Guild Selection
• A Nation's Hope-The Story of Boxing Legend Joe Louis (2010) (illustrated by Kadir Nelson) Received starred reviews from Booklist, Publishers Weekly and School Library Journal
• Infinity Ring: Curse of the Ancients (2013)
• Eternity (2013)
• The Living (2013)
• Last Stop on Market Street (2015)
• The Hunted (2015)
Awards for Last Stop on Market Street
Winner of the 2016 Newbery Medal
A 2016 Caldecott Honor Book
A 2016 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book
A NY Times Book Review Notable Children's Book of 2015
A Wall Street Journal Best Children's Book of 2015
Matt's Journey as a Writer
He’s Mexican, because his family’s Mexican, but he’s not really Mexican … Danny holds the pencil above the paper thinking: I’m a white boy among Mexicans, and a Mexican among white boys” (90).
"Reading is the ultimate form of empathy, and the more you read the more understand not just yourself but other worlds and other people and you become a more compassionate person."-Matt de la Peña
Reading as Mirrors, Windows, &
Sliding Doors
YA Author David Leviathan Interviews Matt de la Pena at BookCon 2015
de la Pena served on the "We Need Diverse Books" Panel
He says he now wants to write books that feature diverse characters but aren't about diversity.
As more thoroughly explained in the videos, Matt was a reluctant reader in high school and did not necessarily value education. However, he secrectly wrote poetry and started out writing Spoken Word poems. He swore he'd never write about basketball, but a few months later, he began writing his first novel, Ball Don't Lie, which relies heavily on basketball to propel the plot.
We Were Here
Matt describes this book as inspired by John Steinbeck' classic novel Of Mice and Men. This would be a good book to include as a supplementary text to the often taught classic.
de la Pena refers to his character Mong as a sort of Lenny character.
The 3 main characters are from 3 different races but come together in a group home.
“That’s the weirdest thing, by the way. That every person you come across lays down in a bed, under the covers, and closes their eyes at night. Cops, teachers, parents, hot girls, pro ballers, everybody. For some reason it makes people seem so much less real when I look at them.” We Were Here
Many of Matt de la Pena's books seem to be High-Low books, which means that they are written at a high interest level for high school students but at a lower reading level, possibly for reluctant or struggling readers. Matt was a reluctant himself, so he can relate to today's students.
Howard County Public Schools
In this thorough & very interesting video,
de la Pena discusses his life growing up, life experiences that inspired him to write, and many of his most famous books.
Matt de la Pena