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Author & Illustrators

Matt de la Pena Books

Milo Imagines the World is a warm and richly satisfying story from the award-winning and New York Times bestselling picture book duo , about a little boy with a big imagination who learns that you can’t know anyone just by looking at them. Set in a bustling city, and full of a family love that binds even in difficult circumstances.

Milo is on a train journey through the city with his older sister, looking at the faces of the other passengers and drawing pictures of their lives. The whiskered man with a crossword puzzle he imagines playing solitaire in a cluttered flat full of pets. The little boy in bright white trainers he imagines living in a castle with a moat and a butler. But when the little boy gets off at the same stop and joins the same queue as him, Milo realises that you can’t judge by appearances and that we are all more alike than we are different: both boys are visiting their mothers in prison.

Matt de la Pena and Christian Robinson once again deliver a hugely powerful and enjoyable picture book, full of rich details both to look at and to talk about. Anyone who has ever travelled on public transport will relate to Milo’s journey.

As a disgruntled CJ and his grandmother make their way on the bus from church to the soup kitchen, she shows him, with quiet, insightful wisdom, how to appreciate the beauty of their neighbourhood and of the diverse characters that share it with them.
5 individual words to describe the book: kindness, empathy, community, gratitude and inclusive.

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Stone Girl Bone Girl

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