RICHARD PECK (1934-2018) was born in Decatur, Illinois and lived
in New York City for nearly 50 years. The acclaimed author of 35
novels for children and young adults, he won the Newbery Medal for
A Year Down Yonder, a Newbery Honor for A Long Way from
Chicago, the Scott O'Dell Award for The River Between
Us, the Edgar Allen Poe Award for Are You in the House
Alone?, a Boston Globe-Horn BookAward Honor for The
Best Man, and the Christopher Medal for The Teacher's
Funeral. He was the first children's author ever to have been
awarded a National Humanities Medal, and was twice a National Book
Award Finalist.
RICHARD PECK (1934-2018) was born in Decatur, Illinois and lived in New York City for nearly 50 years. The acclaimed author of 35 novels for children and young adults, he won the Newbery Medal for A Year Down Yonder, a Newbery Honor for A Long Way from Chicago, the Scott O'Dell Award for The River Between Us, the Edgar Allen Poe Award for Are You in the House Alone?, a Boston Globe-Horn BookAward Honor for The Best Man, and the Christopher Medal for The Teacher's Funeral. He was the first children's author ever to have been awarded a National Humanities Medal, and was twice a National Book Award Finalist.
Gr 5-8-Richard Peck's Newbery Award-winner (Dial, 2000) is a multi-layered story of small town life spiced with humor, love, and a bit of history. Although 15-year-old Mary Alice Dowdel is none too happy when she must spend a year with Grandma Dowdel. It's 1937, and her parents are only able to afford a small room in Chicago, and her much-loved older brother, Joey, is off serving in the Civilian Conservation Corps. Mary Alice worries about fitting in at the two-room schoolhouse, and wonders how she'll cope with her crusty, sometimes embarrassingly eccentric grandmother. Harsh Depression era realities are not ignored, but listeners will spend most of their time laughing at the way Grandma outwits a classroom bully, some Halloween pranksters, and the local D.A.R. An itinerant artist, a risqu‚ postmistress, and a community full of memorable characters provide more laughs. After twelve months, Mary Alice feels at home in this tiny Illinois town, and has developed a new respect and abiding affection for her maverick grandmother. Lois Smith's masterful comic timing has a country flair that conveys Peck's humorous and heartwarming book perfectly. This is a must buy for every library with audiobook collections. Even high school and adult audiences will enjoy A Year Down Yonder.-Barbara Wysocki, Cora J. Belden Library. Rocky Hill, CT Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
In this hilarious and poignant sequel to A Long Way to Chicago, Peck once again shows that country life is anything but boring. Chicago-bred Mary Alice (who has previously weathered annual week-long visits with Grandma Dowdel) has been sentenced to a year-long stay in rural Illinois with her irrepressible, rough and gruff grandmother, while Joey heads west with the Civilian Conservation Corps, and her parents struggle to get back on their feet during the 1937 recession. Each season brings new adventures to 15-year-old Mary Alice as she becomes Grandma's partner in crime, helping to carry out madcap schemes to benefit friends and avenge enemies. Around Halloween, for example, the woman, armed with wire, a railroad spike and a bucket of glue, outsmarts a gang of pranksters bent on upturning her privy. Later on, she proves just as apt at squeezing change out of the pockets of skinflints, putting prim and proper DAR ladies in their place and arranging an unlikely match between a schoolmarm and a WPA artist of nude models. Between antic capers, Peck reveals a marshmallow heart inside Grandma's rock-hard exterior and adroitly exposes the mutual, unspoken affection she shares with her granddaughter. Like Mary Alice, audience members will breathe a sigh of regret when the eventful year "down yonder" draws to a close. Ages 10-up. (Oct.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
"In this hilarious and poignant sequel to A Long Way to Chicago,
Peck once again shows that country life is anything but boring."
-Publishers Weekly, starred review
"Again, Peck has created a delightful, insightful tale that
resounds with a storyteller's wit, humor, and vivid description."
-School Library Journal
"With the same combination of wit, gentleness, and outrageous farce
as Peck's Newbery Honor book, Long Way from Chicago, this
sequel tells the story of Joey's younger sister, Mary Alice, 15,
who spends the year of 1937 back with Grandma Dowdel in a small
town in Illinois." -Booklist
"In this hilarious and poignant sequel to A Long Way to Chicago, Peck once again shows that country life is anything but boring." --Publishers Weekly, starred review "Again, Peck has created a delightful, insightful tale that resounds with a storyteller's wit, humor, and vivid description." --School Library Journal "With the same combination of wit, gentleness, and outrageous farce as Peck's Newbery Honor book, Long Way from Chicago, this sequel tells the story of Joey's younger sister, Mary Alice, 15, who spends the year of 1937 back with Grandma Dowdel in a small town in Illinois." --Booklist
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