It is 1937 and Mary Alice has been sent down to southern Illinois to live with Grandma Dowdel, while her parents try to survive the Great Depression in Chicago. Mary Alice has never traveled by train alone; her brother Joe was with her every summer that she spent with Grandma; now he is in the Civilian Conservation Corps in California. With her radio, her cat Bootsie, and her trunk, Mary Alice meets Grandma on the station platform. There are no hugs; Grandma is not the hugging type.
If you read A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck, you know all about Grandma. Most of the neighbors are a bit afraid of her, as she is rather large, rarely smiles, and has been known to carry an antique rifle when she has a mind she needs it. She does what she needs to do to get by and is a bit of a Robin Hood. She slips under the barbed wire of the Piatt County Rod and Gun Club to catch catfish to provide a good meal for old Aunt Puss. When the bank tries to foreclose on Mrs. Wilcox’s house, she finds a way to leverage her friend’s antiques at a rummage sale with the banker’s wife. Grandma is clever and mischievous.
In A Year Down Yonder, Mary Alice loses a lot of sleep, as she and Grandma are often out in the dead of night catching privy tippers and gathering ingredients for pumpkin pies. Her math grades suffer, but she learns many valuable lessons otherwise. Being a city girl and being related to Grandma make finding friends at school harder, but she gets to play Mary in the Christmas play and even studies with the star basketball player. Grandma is always there to solve any problem.
I enjoyed the humor and the historical detail of both of these books. Almost every library has them, as they should. They may be aimed at young readers, but adults can enjoy them, too.
Peck, Richard. A Long Way from Chicago. New York: Puffin Books, 1998. ISBN 0141311827
Peck, Richard. A Year Down Yonder. New York: Puffin Books, 2002. ISBN 0142300705
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
11 comments:
i love this book it is awsome
i loved it!! i love grandma dowdel's personality!!
I did not get the book
It was amazing and funny and it is true it is freezing in november!
Rick! I am planning to read this with my students. Can you recommend a movie to accompany the book, or some other visual supplement to really bring this book to life! THanks!!
ce livre il est nul a chier des pommes de terre!!!!!!!!!!!
Hello. This book is a brillant creative story. I have trouble reading and never took any interest in books. Until high school when we had to write assignments on a book assigned to us. This book has inspired me to read.
Thank you Richard Peck
My son has a horrible time reading. He picked the book for his first 5th grade book report, he loved it. I had to read it too help him, what a great book. He wants to read your other book. Thank you!!!
i'm starting to read the book and it is funny about the grandma to put butter on the cat paw
I just read this book for my Children's Literature class in college. What a fantastic book!
I recommend it if you have not read it yet. Richard Peck has a way of relating the story to you so that you feel as if you are experiencing it right along with the characters. It made me smile.
Thank you Richard Peck!
erin
i love this book im doing a book report on it!
Post a Comment