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Finalist for the Ezra Jack Keats Award for writing and illustration
Written by Jarrett Dapier
Illustrated by Eugenia Mello
Lettering by Yani&Guille Studio
Atheneum Books For Young Readers / Caitlyn Dlouhy Books
Last Stop on Market Street gets a jazzy twist in this finger-licking good celebration of music, food, and family.
Come on in, sit right down! Cuz Auntie Nina and her nephew are cooking up a symphony of food and sounds. The lip-smacking smells and be-bopping tunes might just get the whole neighborhood shimmying over to join in. From Nat King Cole Slaw to Art Tatum Tots to Billie Hollandaise Sauce, get ready for some foot-stomping, finger-licking, booty-shaking, mouth-watering fun!
"This picture book embodies the rhythm and flair of the jazz that inspired it.... This joyful book is an experience in itself, with the text in rhythmic, rhyming verses and the bright, busy illustrations screaming movement, noise and joy." -Kirkus, starred review
"I was immediately hooked by the book's catchy rhythms and the fun Jarrett had with the musicians’ names. I toe-tapped and hummed throughout. I love Jazz For Lunch!" -Rita Williams-Garcia, National Book Award-nominated author of One Crazy Summer and Clayton Byrd Goes Underground
"Dapier’s rhymed verse sets a steady beat, and the text is liberally peppered with a mash-up of culinary and jazz wordplay that’s even more involving than the straightforward plot. The thumbnail bios that embellish the endpapers hold the clues to deciphering lots of clever references, from Nat King Cole slaw to Billie Hollandaise sauce, from Art Tatum tots to a hot Reuben Reeves, and of course the Auntie Nina shout-out to Nina Simone... invitingly raucous... Please pass the salt peanuts. -Bulletin for Children's Books
"...a toe-tapping, finger-snapping musical, culinary romp. Electric. Dapier’s phenomenal rhythmic text is an absolute joy to read aloud, and metered perfectly to emulate the syncopation and tempo of an upbeat jazz tune. Mello’s illustrations are bright, colorful, and full of ecstatic life, perfectly melding musical and food imagery to fit the theme; they also feature a fantastic diversity of skintones, genders, hair textures, and body types... Highly recommended and Baby Bookworm-approved!" -The Baby Bookworm
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