Rating: 
Summary: Hardly What I'd Call "Teen Literature," but Still Great
Review: Join the fun during a Year Down Yonder. Following the life of Mary Alice and her fiery-tempered Grandma Dowdel. Mary Alice, the "rich Chicago girl" gets an education in real life. From Grandma Dowdel's relationship with her neighbors, her trigger-happiness, and her eccentric personality, she's just about the most lovable character I've read about lately. The book includes everything a book should; humour, adventure, drama, and real life situations. Peck is a very talented author, deserving the awards his book has received, but this is more children's lit than teen lit. Still, I would recommend it to everyone, it's a great summer book, and the easy reading level makes it a quick read. Check it out, I think you'll like it.
Rating:
Summary: A Year Down Yonder - - A Wonderful Book- -WE LOVED IT!!
Review: A historical fiction book designed for children around the
fifth grade, it is a wonderful story of how a "rich
Chicago girl," Mary Alice, is forced to go live with her
grandmother in rural Illinois after her father looses his
job during the Great Depression. Thinking such destiny
could be nothing short of sheer misery, Mary Alice dreads
her trip to live with crazy Grandma Dowdel. Throughout the
book, however, she goes through various adventures-a
tornado, Halloween pranks, Christmas surprises, club
fundraisers, and even a lesson in love-to discover that
her Grandmother and the sleepy rural town is full of love
and compassion that was often lost in the big city lights of
Chicago. Mary Alice learns that even when she leaves the
small rural town, she'll forever carry the heart of her
often intimidating, but sweet and genuine, grandmother with
her. A very lovely story with an incrediblyhappy ending!
This book helps children appreciate that times during the
Great Depression were not easy on anyone and that, many
times, people had to make due with what they had. It
focuses on what brings real satisfaction and happiness into
people's lives. This fine piece of children's
literature could be used with parents and teachers to
promote the study of social interactions, history, literary
characteristics, and changes in technology and
communication. Teachers especially would find the book's
detailed style of writing easy to incorporate activities across the curriculum, including history, geography, math,
science, and the arts.
Rating: 
Summary: A Year Down Yonder
Review: When Mary Alice goes to her Grandma Dowdel's run-down home in the middle-of-nowhere, she's expecting boredom from the moment she gets off the train until her parents somehow get their act together and are able to raise her in Chicago with the rest of the family. At first, she does not like country-life any more than she likes Mildred, the school bully who says Mary Alice owes her a dollar for no reason at all. But after Mildred has a close encounter with Grandma Dowdel, she keeps her distance. Weeks go by and Mary Alice finds herself adjusting to "country livin'". In fact, she sees herself acting more and more like her "trigger-happy grandmother" every day. The adventures Mary Alice and her grandmother experience are exciting! And the crazy stunts her Grandmother pull are hilarious! Although most of Southern Illinois are scared stiff of Grandma Dowdel, Mary Alice finds herself falling in love with not only her grandma, but the small town ways that seemed so odd when she first stepped out of Wabash Railroad Blue Bird Train Station.
If you liked the New Honor-wining book A Long Way from Chicago, then you should definitly read this book! If you are looking for a historical fiction book, or just a humorous book to keep you on the edge of your seat, then A Year Down Yonder is for you!
Rating:
Summary: A Must Read!
Review: Richard Peck's A Year Down Yonder chronicles the zany adventures of Grandma Dowdel and her granddaughter Mary Alice. Raised in Chicago, Mary Alice is in for quite a shock when she finds herself sent to live with her grandmother in a country town in 1937. Although Mary Alice has a hard time adjusting (she has to learn to keep her beloved cat Bootsie outside and play her Philco portable radio at night in bed), she grows accustomed to the wacky way of living in which her grandmother has grown to love. Whether Mary Alice is helping her grandmother steal pecans to make a pie or making tarts for the Auxiliary Ladies, she never forgets her family and how much they mean to her. As the story draws to a close, Mary Alice finds herself closer to her grandmother than she ever thought would happen when she moved from Chicago.
This book does everything it can to keep the reader interested. From Grandma Dowdel's outrageous acts to Mary Alice's adventures in school, this book is never boring. In fact, it's hard to put down! The characters are extremely well developed and the detailed descriptions of the crazy stunts Grandma Dowdel and Mary Alice take part in are wonderful. In some way, every reader would be able to relate to the characters-whether it being the new kid on the block like Mary Alice or having a silly relative like Grandma Dowdel. If you are ever looking for a book that has wonderful humor, a lot of adventure or a sense or realism, A Year Down Yonder is a top pick!
Rating:
Summary: Hardly What I'd Call "Teen Literature," but Still Great
Review: Join the fun during a Year Down Yonder. Following the life of Mary Alice and her fiery-tempered Grandma Dowdel. Mary Alice, the "rich Chicago girl" gets an education in real life. From Grandma Dowdel's relationship with her neighbors, her trigger-happiness, and her eccentric personality, she's just about the most lovable character I've read about lately. The book includes everything a book should; humour, adventure, drama, and real life situations. Peck is a very talented author, deserving the awards his book has received, but this is more children's lit than teen lit. Still, I would recommend it to everyone, it's a great summer book, and the easy reading level makes it a quick read. Check it out, I think you'll like it.
Rating:
Summary: A Year Down Yonder
Review: I liked the second book in this series even more than the first becuase it was funnier, catchier and the ending was very happy and nice! In both of the books, it is written from Grandma Dowdel's point of view. She is the funniest, wackiest, coolest Granny in the world...if she really exsisted. I hope that one day not too long from now, a third book will come out and if not, the definetely a movie. Out of all the books I have ever read, these two just about top them all. If I were to suggest any book ever, it would ahve to be one of these. Sometime in the near future, if I have the time, I would love to read these two great books again!!!
Rating:
Summary: A Year Down Yonder
Review: A city girl named Mary Alice, moves in with her rigged, cunning Grandmother in the horribly small country town of Wabash, Illinois. Because of the Depression , Mary Alice is sent to live there while her family goes through their own rough time in Chicago. She is forced to adapt to the totally new life style of her grandmother which some would not wish on their worst enemies. Her grandmother has a very rugged way of going about things, that creates quite a stir in this little community. Before long, Mary Alice gets accustomed to her grandmothers tricks and schemes against the towns people and realizes country life isn't that bad after all. I couldn't put this book down the first time I read it because the author writes about their adventures so vividly and exciting. Each trick they play on the town keeps the reader in suspense for the next clever and humorous adventures to come. This book is a laugh-out-loud kind of book so be prepared. This book would be a great book for children to understand the struggles in forming a good relationship between Grandchildren and Grandparents.
Rating:
Summary: A Year Down Yonder
Review: A Year Down Yonder takes place in 1937 and Mary Alice's life is turned upside down due to the recession. Her dad loses his job in Chicago and she has to go stay with her feisty grandmother in a small hick-town. Grandma Dowdel is an isolated woman, but one thing Mary Alice does know about her grandmother is she never knows what kind of scheme she will plan next. As this grandmother and granddaughter spend time together, they experience some interesting episodes and develop a loving relationship. Mary Alice also discovers that behind these outlandish schemes Grandma Dowdel has a good motive to help other people of the community. Richard Peck turns Mary Alice's difficult situation into an amusing story with laugh-out-loud humor. Mary Alice and Grandma Dowdel's sense of humor is expressed through their witty perception of the other characters. The reader is left in suspense wondering what kind of chaos this grandmother and granddaughter will create next. I highly recommend this Newbery Medal winning book to examine a different kind of relationship between grandparents and grandchildren.
Rating:
Summary: One Touching Novel: A Year Down Yonder
Review: A Year Down Yonder, by Richard Peck, gives its readers entertainment as well as a little hope of developing good relationships with their grandparents. This Newbery Medal Award winning book was set in a small town called Wabash in the late 1930s. Peck created an atmosphere in which all of his characters lived through the Depression. The reader gets some view of how the living conditions were in those days. The novel started when Mary Alice was being sent to live with her grandma. Grandma was one of those people who was disliked by many of the town's residents. Mary Alice really didn't want to stay at Grandma's house, and she wasn't ready to leave her parents and friends behind. I would definitely suggest this book to anyone who may have some sort of bad relationship with their grandparents. It shows its readers that many people do not take the time to actually get to know their grandparents. Grandparents are very important in one's life and no one should ever take them for granted. A Year Down Yonder depicts the true characteristics of grandparents: caring, protecting, and trusting. This book also keeps the reader interested. It tells of the many adventures that Mary Alice and Grandma went on and it also develops a lot of conflict throughout. Everyone enjoys a little conflict. Peck did an excellent job in developing his characters. The readers are able to create a picture in their minds of how each character may look. Even though this novel is considered a children's book, I would recommend it to readers of all ages. It will touch everyone's heart in a special way.
Rating:
Summary: One Touching Novel: A Year Down Yonder
Review: A Year Down Yonder, by Richard Peck, gives its readers entertainment as well as little hope of developing good relationships with their grandparents. This Newbery Medal Award winning book was set in a small town called Wabash in the late 1930s. Peck created an atmosphere where all of his characters lived through the Depression. The reader gets some view of how the living conditions were in those days. The novel started when Mary Alice was being sent to live with her grandma. Grandma was one of those people that was disliked by many of the town's residents. Mary Alice really didn't want to stay at Grandma's house, and she wasn't ready to leave her parents and friends behind. I would definately suggest this book to anyone that may have some sort of disliking towards their grandparents. It shows its readers that many people do not take the time to actually get to know their grandparents. Grandparents are very important in one's life and no one should ever take them for granted. A Year Down Yonder depicts the true characteristics of grandparents: caring, protecting, and trusting. This book also keeps the reader interested. It tells of the many adventures that Mary Alice and Grandma went on and it also developes a lot of conflict throughout. Everyone enjoys a little conflict. Peck did an excellent job in developing his characters. The readers are able to create a picture in their minds of how each character may look. Even though this novel is considered a children's book, I would recommend it to readers of all ages. It will touch everyone's heart in a special way.
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