Patchwork

by Matt de la Peña, Corinna Luyken (Illustrator)

From a Newbery Medal-winning author and a New York Times bestselling illustrator comes a deeply moving ode to the complexity and uniqueness of every child.

In profound, uplifting verse and sumptuous artwork, beloved creators Matt de la Peña and Corinna Luyken explore the endless possibilities each child contains: A young dancer may grow into a computer coder; a basketball player might become a poet; a class clown may one day serve as an inspiring teacher; and today’s quiet empath might be tomorrow’s great leader. Here’s a profound and uplifting new classic with an empowering message for readers of all ages: Your story is still being written.

Genres: Picture Books, Poetry, Childrens, Inspirational, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Storytime

48 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2022

About the author

Matt de la Peña is the New York Times best-selling, Newbery-medal-winning author of six young adult novels and four picture books. Matt received his MFA in creative writing from San Diego State University and his BA from the University of the Pacific, where he attended school on a full athletic scholarship for basketball. de la Peña currently lives in Brooklyn, NY. He teaches creative writing and visits high schools and colleges throughout the country.

Visit Matt at: mattdelapena.com

Reviews

[Ms. B · Rating 3 out of 5]

We are all more than one trait in this story about how what we become is not necessarily defined by our childhood.

[Ellon · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars (it was okay).

So not only was this book a let down but I already wrote a review and it didn't save due to internet issues. UGH!

Anyway... I was expecting more from de la Pena. I didn't care for the text too much or the illustration style. I think the book was trying too hard to be Caldecott bait. This is definitely one of those picture books that was written for adults and not kids. I did like the idea/message that we are all more than just one thing but the way it was portrayed in this book just wasn't engaging. Bummer

[Panda Incognito · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art is beautiful, and the snapshots of different people's lives and internal experiences encourage empathy and a sense of possibility. My favorite vignette was about the little girl who always made trouble in class but grew up to be a teacher who made everyone feel welcome. However, the poetic text is so metaphorical that it is sometimes vague and difficult to understand. I can see this starting great discussions in a middle school or high school creative writing class, but it's not great for little children.

Parents and teachers will enjoy this, and the art is lovely for anyone to look at, but it always disappoints me when picture books are best suited for a much-older audience that won't read them. This could have been published as an illustrated chapter book, with each vignette as a different chapter, to get this into the hands of kids who would truly understand and appreciate it. Older kids will be ready for the high level of metaphor and abstract thought, and will be in life situations where they relate to the characters.

People shouldn't think that kids grow out of picture books after they hit first grade, but since so many people do assume that, it's disappointing when authors and publishers put out picture books that are mismatched between the format and the ideal audience. Some young children will relate to and appreciate the parts of this book that they can understand, and they will enjoy the pictures, but this is much better suited to older kids.

[Maggi Rohde · Rating 4 out of 5]

So beautiful and moving. I would buy this book for new parents.

[DaNae · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thematic affirmation that we are not one thing. The poetry draws a direct line from a childhood trait that blooms into an unexpected strength as an adult.

[Reyhan Aygün · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sen tekrar tekrar çalınan tek bir notadan fazlasısın
Sen bir senfonisin
Gittiğin tüm yerlerden koparılmış seslersin; ve karşılaştığın tüm insanlardan ve hissettiğin tüm duygulardan.
Sen mavilersin, pembelersin, yalnızlıksın, kahkahasın, zamanla biriken uyumsuz parçalardan dikilmiş bir tür renk cümbüşüsün.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ugh I dare anyone not to cry reading this. My husband broke down at the passage about the class clown who couldn’t sit still and wanted attention - later using those making-people-laugh skills to become a teacher. SPOT ON.

[Phobean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, ok, ok --this author is clearly a master of the form. Not only that, but to create something so poignant written in second person? Wowzers. Can people stop producing unassuming-looking picture books with bright-beautiful-bitter honesty that kicks me in the gut?? Wanna buy this one for every adult I know . . .

[Michele Knott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an important book about identity. This is a must read for every human.

[Kelly (VanIslandCircus) · Rating 5 out of 5]

As beautifully illustrated as written. An inspiring lyrical journey of growth, and we can be so much more than what we are.

[Mary Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hearing Matt de la Peña read this book at NCTE Homecoming was magical. It's a book every child (really, every HUMAN) needs to hear over and over again as they become.

[Moonkiszt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Featured in a grandma reads session.

It was the title that got me. . . I'm a quilter, so there was no question I was picking up this book. My group consists of the progeny of quilting folk, so appreciated the title, metaphor and message of the book. . . .

Which goes something like this: throughout our lives we are labeled by others and ourselves, which affects our identity profile, who we think we are, who we want to be, how, why and what we are. We pick up preferences that color those labels, that shape the way we share ourselves with others and the world. Matt de la Peña (author) and Corinna Luyken (illustrator) lyrically weave their unique skills together, bringing the metaphor to life with a kind of movement of its own.

We loved the art and message of this affirming picture book - a heart-warming book for this grandmother to have the privilege read to her own.

[Bel · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite authors and one of my Favorite illustrators come together to prove that each of our stories is still being written. Delightful

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Matt de la Pena always knows how to tug on those heartstrings in his profound and literary picture books. In Patchwork he reminds adults and kids alike that we all contain multitudes; we are a patchwork of interests, ideas, ideals, strengths and weaknesses.

[Evalynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is good for children to know that their uniqueness is their strength. While I read this at my place of work, the artwork drew a customer in, & he bought one as a gift to his wife, who loves children's books. I think that says something wonderful about this book. 💛

[Alexx Burris · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love love love this art work and always adore anything by this author

[Janelle Bailey]

82: Patchwork written by Matt de la Peña, illustrated by Corinna Luyken

For a little while this fall I was teaching 7th grade ELA and enjoyed "meeting" a number of contemporary authors writing well for that age, including Matt de la Peña.

Thus, when re-organizing some shelves in the children's area of the booksellers where I work part-time, I was intrigued to find his name on the binding of this book…and then read it.

What a beautiful message of empowerment for a young child and filled with the love and support of parents or encouraging adults, wishing for them to be and become their best and then ultimately be the "best" whatever-they-wish down the road, and even when or if that "wish" changes over time, as they change their minds. And the book's illustrations are just as gorgeous in accompaniment; a hearty "well done" to Ms. Luyken.

Honestly, the book presents a very encouraging message to this adult reader, even, so perhaps it is a valuable gift for readers of any age. Maybe it is exactly where I first got--or received affirmation for the value of my idea that my future may not entail one single "job" or position of employment anymore but rather be, figuratively, a sturdy and lovingly crafted patchwork quilt of possibility and potential opportunities, allowing me to provide for self and others valuable fulfillment of care and also the pursuit of hopes and dreams.

[Leonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here are three more children's books from the New York Times Best Books of 2022 list. They're great...all three of them. "A is for BEE" adds a new twist to the usual predictable way of utilizing the alphabet and does it to introduce the reader to other languages. "The Summer of Diving" is a moody and sober, but beautiful book about a family with mental illness.
However "Patchwork" shines over all the children's books I've read in recent years. It's written by Matt De La Pena, a Newberry Medal-winning author, and he deserves another award for this one. So drop your latest thriller, best-seller, biography, or mystery and run to your nearest bookstore or library and get "Patchwork." It's not like any other children's book I've read, and difficult to describe except to say that it's about colors, diversity, compassion, and love, and is a bit abstract, which opens up other possibilities. "Patchwork" is the kind of book that made me wish I was a small child again, and getting ready to read it, even though I had some great books to read when I was a child including "The Biggest Bear" and "A Child's Garden of Verses".

[Bella Nuzzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Star rating: 5 Stars
Copyright date: 2022
Awards: NCTE Excellence in Poetry Award
Genre: Picture Book, Poetry
Summary of book: In this story, we follow the path of many individuals. They all are different in their unique ways. The story explains through poetry how what you may start off as may not be what you finish as. Thinking of it like a quilt, we are not one thing forever, we change and grow. The bigger and older the quilt, the more intricate and unique the patchwork becomes.
Thoughts on the book: I feel a connection with this book. I too have gone through many changes and what I was isn't who I am now. I feel this book explains to kids that change is okay. That change is human. I believe this book would be amazing in a classroom. It brings poetry into the classroom and it can be used to explain to kids that we will change. As an aspiring teacher, I can see myself reading this book to my students and telling them my story, so they can understand even their teacher is like the characters in the book.

[Abby Gross · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is beautifully illustrated and written to highlight everybody's individuality, as well as the idea that no one's journey is on a fixed path.

I enjoyed this book because it is uplifting, and I appreciate the message a lot. The writing is poetic and the illustrations add to it.

I would read this book at the beginning of the year to build classroom community. However, it is more geared towards older children. The writing is pretty but metaphorical, and I think it could be hard for a younger audience to follow. With a bit of an older audience, I think this would be a great book to discuss themes of diversity.

I could create a center activity where the children create their own "patchwork" where they write down what makes them different. I saw a craft in a classroom recently where the children all wrote down facts about themselves on a hexagon, and then matched a side of their hexagon with another person's if their fact was similar. A great way to highlight differences and similarities. Again, a great way to build classroom community.

[Kathryn Lawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

2022, NCTE Excellence in Poetry, Poetry

Patchwork highlights differences between people. Each person is made of ‘patches’ and each patch represents a different part of each person and their experiences through life. This story teaches readers that we are not the same all through life and that we change as we go, but that we are all beautiful pieces of artwork in the end and each have an endless amount of possibilities and opportunities ahead of us. I would use this book in the classroom to teach my students that all people are different and that we change through life but it is a beautiful thing not a bad thing.

I absolutely loved the art in this book. I think the illustrations really aided in telling the story and creating a feeling of beauty. I think that students would enjoy this book and it would be a great story to pair with conversations about being unique and individuals, and maybe even an activity based on it.

[Sarah V · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been waiting for this book to debut. He read it to my class when he did a conference with us and I’ve been thinking about it ever since. It makes me want to explore each part of myself. I’m gonna buy so many copies just to give them away as gifts too

It just reminds me that we are all multifaceted people (as dumb as that can sound). In a time where in fashion for example, everyone wants h to o find their one specific aesthetic and stick to it. This reassures me that you don’t have to.

Honestly this book means a lot even starting college. Entering college, for me this book means change your major that’s ok. Take classes on a variety of things even if it doesn’t relate to my major or minor. I can just learn about things I like.

It makes you remember that you’re made up of so many different parts, each one important, because it makes you you.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lush, big-hearted, finely-focused prose. A quiet cheer for us to be our fullest selves. And the art is as delicate and confident as the arrow that this book is shooting.

But at whom?!

I feel so lost. Who is the child who chooses to read this? I want to hear from this person.
It feels like a teacher-book, a counselor-book. And maybe that is just fine.

Maybe this is what a book can be: a kindness, the equivalent of my mother buying Our Bodies Ourselves for me when I was 13 and putting it on my bed. (But I didn't touch it.)

I may be lost because I am expecting a picture book to take me somewhere beyond moral message. Not just preach me, or teach me. I resist that, even when it is done as lovingly and lavishly as it is done here. But I keep being surprised that publishers (and certainly others?) do.

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Patch” work is one of those books we all needed to hear when we were children, considering it touched me even as a nineteen-year-old and probably many other adults who have read it. The book focused on how ever-evolving our identities are and how we are not bound to one perception of ourselves and can have multiple traits that make us, US. In the book, we followed various characters, some of which include the “class clown” who then becomes a teacher, and the “school athlete,” a basketball player who becomes a poet. The books showed us how we can have interests that are very different from each other but are still valid. We are essentially a “patchwork” composed of different colors and sizes. I loved the illustrations.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

“You are more than a single note — played again and again./You are a symphony.” A beautiful book about how all of us contain multitudes. Each experience, or facet of our identity, merges to create a symphony. Each piece of us is stitched with others to become a beautiful patchwork quilt. None of us are one thing. All of us are unique. And each child is full of promise and possibility.


Matt de la Peña was first published as a young adult novelist, but I think he has really come into his own as a picture book author. If I remember correctly, he started writing and performing poetry before he got published. I see and hear this foundation in all of his picture books.

Recommended for grades K-5

[Nicole Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Date: 2022
Award: NCTE Excellence in Poetry
Genre: Poetry, realistic fiction
Book type: Picture book

This book explores children's identities and what they may grow up to do, who they may grow up to be, and how their identity in childhood may be very different from the identity that they grow into as an adult. In the classroom, this book can be used to teach students that they can do anything they want to, that they may be interested in something right now but that can change in the future, and that there is nothing wrong with changing. I loved the metaphor of patchwork used and how inspirational this book came across. I would have enjoyed reading this when I was a kid and I think the poetry aspect of this book really added to the message.

[Taylor Perry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Patchwork, 2022
NCTE

We trace the paths of numerous people in this novel. Every one of them is distinct in their own way. Through poetry, the story illustrates how who you may begin as might not match who you end up being. Considering it in the analogy of a patchwork, we are dynamic, ever-changing entities. The intricacy and individuality of the patchwork increase with the size and age of the quilt.

This book is able to be utilized to demonstrate to learners that they are capable of anything, that there can be nothing incorrect with modifying, and that even though they may not be passionate about anything currently, they may become interested in it in the future.This would have been fun to read as a child.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a book for kids to read alone, as the text is abstract and vaguely "poetic" in order to make these basic points, that we are all more than one thing, andthat we are in the process of becoming. For a book making those points, it has--like other picture books by LaPena--more words than necessary.

I like Mexican Whiteboy, de la Pena's YA book, and his collaboration with Christian Robinson, Last Stop on Market Street, awarded the Newbery, but this one feels like his Love picture book, not primarily for kids, who mostly would be confused.

I read this primarily because I'm a fan of the artist Corinna Luyken, whose work here is like her work on The Tree in Me, gouache, pencil and ink, just lovely.

[Dove Tupper · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was open for interpretation by the reader. Sometimes colors remind people of memories or experiences & colors can also represent feelings. The story seems to be poetic & I think it goes along with the theme of colors. There are so many combinations but all are beautiful. I like how there was a color palette for each page & each person. It helped to distinguish different parts of the story & also depicts what the verse on the page is describing. I thought this book told the story of a good variety of people with differing cultural backgrounds. In a way, the people all are united in the end & seen in a positive connotation which is hopeful & optimistic for each individual & the world as a whole.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know Matt de la Pena as a YA author. When I saw his name on a picture book, I decided to check it out. It is a wonderful story about how the things we enjoy can evolve into other things and how it makes us unique. It is also a story about how we evolve is equally important to the bigger picture of how the world needs all of our talents to make it complete. All those talents form a patchwork...thus the title. The illustrations and the words blend well together and I did a lot of back and forth between the picture and the words. Both really pulled me into contemplation. I found it a very thought-provoking picture book.