1 of 1 copy available
Richard Peck's Newbery Medal-winning sequel to A Long Way from Chicago
Mary Alice's childhood summers in Grandma Dowdel's sleepy Illinois town were packed with enough drama to fill the double bill of any picture show. But now she is fifteen, and faces a whole long year with Grandma, a woman well known for shaking up her neighbors-and everyone else! All Mary Alice can know for certain is this: when trying to predict how life with Grandma might turn out . . . better not. This wry, delightful sequel to the Newbery Honor Book A Long Way from Chicago has already taken its place among the classics of children's literature.
"Hilarious and poignant." —Publishers Weekly, starred review
A Newbery Medal Winner
A New York Times Bestseller
An ALA Notable Book
An ALA Best Book for Young Adults
A Booklist Best Book of the Year
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
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Creators
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Series
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Publisher
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Awards
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Release date
October 31, 2006 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780739330456
- File size: 98337 KB
- Duration: 03:24:52
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Languages
- English
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Levels
- ATOS Level: 4.5
- Lexile® Measure: 670
- Interest Level: 4-8(MG)
- Text Difficulty: 3
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Reviews
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Winner of the 2001 Newbery Award, A Year Down Yonder is the charming companion to Peck's 1999 Newbery Honor winner, A Long Way from Chicago. This time, Mary Alice regales us with tales of life with Grandma Dowdel during a long year spent in Grandma's "hick town," where no one is as modern, as sophisticated, or as clever as Mary Alice is. However, Grandma Dowdel is every bit as snappish, quirky, and gruff as always. While the same wonderful storytelling quality infuses this volume, and Lois Smith's clearly middle-aged voice is very effective in reading Grandma's crusty dialogue, Mildred Burdick's surly sneer, and Miss Butler's teachery tones, it is a bit less effective for Mary Alice's youthful first-person narration. Nevertheless, the humor of Mary Alice's situation and her many scrapes with a cast of eccentric small-town characters are guaranteed to entertain. T.B. (c) AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine -
Starred review from October 28, 2002
In this Newbery Honor book, Chicago-bred Mary Alice has been sentenced to a year-long stay in rural Illinois with her irrepressible, rough and gruff grandmother. Soon, however, she becomes Grandma's partner in crime, helping to carry out madcap schemes to benefit friends and avenge enemies. In a starred review, PW
called this sequel to A Long Way to Chicago
"hilarious and poignant." Ages 10-14. -
Starred review from October 2, 2000
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.
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