Milo Imagines the World, Matt de la Pena
Milo Imagines the World, Matt de la Pena
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Milo Imagines the World

Author: Matt de la Peña

Narrator: Dion Graham

Unabridged: 8 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/02/2021

Synopsis

The team behind the Newbery Medal winner and Caldecott Honor book Last Stop on Market Street and the award-winning New York Times bestseller Carmela Full of Wishes once again delivers a poignant and timely children's book that's sure to become an instant classic.

Milo is on a long subway ride with his older sister. To pass the time, he studies the faces around him and makes pictures of their lives. There's the whiskered man with the crossword puzzle; Milo imagines him playing solitaire in a cluttered apartment full of pets. There's the wedding-dressed woman with a little dog peeking out of her handbag; Milo imagines her in a grand cathedral ceremony. And then there's the boy in the suit with the bright white sneakers; Milo imagines him arriving home to a castle with a drawbridge and a butler. But when the boy in the suit gets off on the same stop as Milo—walking the same path, going to the exact same place—Milo realizes that you can't really know anyone just by looking at them.

About The Author

Matt de la Peña is the Newbery Medal-winning author of Last Stop on Market Street. He is also the author of the award-winning picture books Carmela Full of Wishes, Love, and A Nation's Hope: The Story of Boxing Legend Joe Louis, and seven critically acclaimed young-adult novels. Matt teaches creative writing and visits schools and colleges throughout the country. You can visit Matt at mattdelapena.com or on Twitter @mattdelapena.Christian Robinson received a Caldecott Honor and a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor for his art in Last Stop on Market Street. He is the author and illustrator of the picture books Another and You Matter, and he has illustrated many more, including Carmela Full of Wishes, the Gaston and Friends series, School's First Day of School, and The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade. You can visit Christian at theartoffun.com or on Instagram @theartoffun.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Betsy

The human brain loves to form assumptions because long ago that adaptive quality could potentially lead to enduring survival. When Homo sapiens were tromping about 250,000 years ago, the ability to size up a potential friend or foe instantaneously could mean the difference between life or death. But......more

Goodreads review by Beth

When people look down their noses at academics who study children’s literature because it isn’t literary or highbrow enough, books like MILO IMAGINES THE WORLD are the perfect example that children’s literature is literary, layered, complex, and worthy of study — while also being really beautiful an......more

Goodreads review by Dave

With the suspension of the Goodreads Choice 2021 Picture Book category, I was of mixed feelings; first, my family yearly rates all the nominees, but we had in recent years been less impressed with the nominees (which Rod Brown found were often published by Amazon subsidiaries). So I consulted a coup......more

Goodreads review by Darla

Milo is riding the subway with his sister. We don't know where they are going, but it is a weekly trip that takes a long time. Along the way he imagines the lives of fellow passengers and draws pictures of them -- going home to their pets, living in a castle, getting married, etc. Perhaps first impr......more

Quotes

A New York Times Bestseller
A #1 Indie Bestseller
A Parents Magazine Best Book of the Year
A Kirkus Best Book of the Year
A Horn Book Fanfare List Selection
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
A Shelf Awareness Best Children’s Book of the Year
A New York Public Library Best Book of the Year
A Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year
A BCCB Blue Ribbon List Selection
An ALA Notable Children’s Book
A Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year
Longlisted for the 2022 CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal

“Bright, fun, whimsical . . . An absolutely wonderful book for kids.” —Good Morning America

“Exquisite . . . Ends with a heartfelt punch.” —The TODAY Show

“Brilliant.” —The New York Times Book Review

“A great message for kids, and a good one for adults to be reminded of from time to time as well.” —The A.V. Club

* “With the same combination of wide-eyed observation and suspenseful buildup to a socially conscious revelation that readers cherished in this duo’s award-winning Last Stop on Market Street (2015), this picture book offers a child’s view of the impacts of incarceration on families. De la Peña’s descriptive language and Robinson’s innocent, endearing art make for another winning package . . . A memorable, thought-provoking story poised to make a difference for many.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

* “Harold and the Purple Crayon meets twenty-first-century urban realism . . . As in Jacqueline Woodson’s Visiting Day, the joy and parent-child love shine through . . . This poignant, thought-provoking story speaks volumes for how art can shift one’s perspectives and enable an imaginative alternative to what is . . . or seems to be.” —The Horn Book, starred review

* “Robinson intersperses scenes of his signature cut-paper collage artwork . . . with images of Milo's sketchbook, and the child-like drawings in thick crayon lines not only give insight into his imagination but his heart . . . An excellent conversation-starter for modern times.” —Booklist, starred review

* “A text that flows like poetry . . . Glorious.” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review 

* “In this rich, multilayered journey, the award-winning creators of Last Stop on Market Street celebrate a city’s kaleidoscope of scenes, offer a glimpse at a child’s experience with parental incarceration, and convey that child’s keen observations about his circumstances and surroundings.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

* “Readers of Milo Imagines the World will feel compassion stacked on top of heartache on top of humility on top of hope.” —Shelf Awareness, starred review 

“Pictures brimming with activity, an endearing main character, and threads for thinking about art, families, and what we see in others make this a book that will hold up to many readings.” —School Library Journal

“De la Peña’s prose is precise and evocative . . . His story respects young readers by incorporating their complex interior worlds and the observant ways they attend to issues of class . . . Robinson’s signature collage illustrations bring Milo and his sister’s distinct personalities to life . . . This sweet but never saccharine story is a classic in the making.” —BookPage

“Sweet yet poignant . . . Manages to be sophisticated while also bringing in the joy and wonder associated with picture books.” —The San Diego Union-Tribune

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