And when she disembarks the buskers would most certainly burst out with a rendition of “Here Comes the Bride,” absolutely! His big sister’s braids and Milo’s glasses, drawn with Milo’s vibrant colored pencils, make the identities of the characters unmistakable, but the smiles on their faces during this poignant reunion tell the most anticipated part of Milo’s story. It is an inclusive book and it's not until the end of the story that this becomes apparent in Milo's pictures. These fantastic additions contrast with the mostly realistic portrayals Milo creates for the subway riders. The blond haired, blue eyed boy in the seat opposite him is surely going to a castle where he'll be waited on hand and foot.

Milo Imagines the World by Matt de la Peña Review of the Day: Milo Imagines the World by Matt de la Peña

That’s how he learns that we can’t really know anyone just by looking at them, and is inspired to reimagine all of his drawings.

During the ride there, he observes his fellow passengers—men, women, and kids he's never seen and may never again—and draws pictures of what their lives may be like. For a trio of break-dancers who cavort in Milo’s train car and who, like him, aren’t white, he glumly foresees that “even after the performances are over, faces still follow their every move. I have had seasons of life when a regularly recurring event had me feeling that way, so filled with anticipation I could hardly stand it, but with trepidation mixed in.

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But when Milo and his sister arrive at their stop, a place Milo is both longing to get to and afraid to enter, he sees that the well dressed little boy is going to the same place! Inspired by Christian Robinson’s childhood experiences, Milo Imagines The World is a beautiful story that reminds us all not to judge a book by its cover. Instead, this is the book that I continue to think about long after I’ve put it down or read it to my kids. Milo reimagines all the stories he has created for the people he drew on the train, and realises all the different situations and lives those people might live. When Milo and his sister arrive at their stop, he sees how wrong he was about one of his assumptions, which makes him reconsider everyone else.

This is Milo's epiphany moment in the book: "And a thought occurs to him: Maybe you can't really know anyone just by looking at their face. But good commentary on the limits of the imagination; you have to dig deeper to really know someone, but will kids at this age really be able to appreciate this point? 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.