Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic.
Review: Richard Peck does it again with this marvelous book. Grandma Dowdel is one of the best characters in the history of juvenile literature. Just like " A Long Way From Chicago", this book is one that you will read in one sitting, and reread again and again. Bravo.
Rating:
Summary: Very fun read
Review: I don't always necessarily enjoy the books that win the Newbery Award, but this one is deserving. I can honestly say I would recommend it for anyone in 5th grade right on up to senior citizens. ("A Year Down Yonder" also stands alone very well - you don't need to have read "A Long Way From Chicago" in order to understand or enjoy this one.) The narrator is a 15 year old girl who is sent from Chicago to live with her grandmother in a rural town during the depression. We quickly come to appreciate the comic aspects of small-town life, but most especially we enjoy the wily ways of the grandmother, who is nobody's fool and mischievous to boot. At the same time, we admire her toughness and the warm heart behind the hard exterior. Each chapter is an amusing anecdote all its own, as we follow the town through a year from fall to summer. Small town incidents like halloween pranks, Christmas plays, ladies' luncheons and big storms become masterfully funny stories. Moments of this coming-of-age story are genuinely touching, while mirth prevails throughout. You will have a great time reading this one.
Rating:
Summary: Another Treat From Down Yonder!
Review: This sequel is fantastic! I loved the first one but must say this one is even better. Any kid's book that can make me laugh out loud is alright by me. The grandmother in these books is a character like none other. I read A Long Way From Chicago with my after school reading club of 5-7th graders and they loved it, now I can't wait to read this one with them. An absolute winner!
Rating:
Summary: Quaint Grandma + Quiet Girl + Crazy Town...what do you get?
Review: This book is great! It's hilarious, creative, and captures your attention very well. The "quaint," weird grandma is just very charming! She protects her granddaughter, is trigger-happy, and works hard for food. The "quiet girl" soon realizes what a unique person her grandmother really is. Richard Peck reveals his creativity yet again!
Rating:
Summary: Just as good as the first!!!
Review: This book, the sequel to "A Long Way from Chicago", is worthy of attention too (I hope the Newbery committee considers it). It is just as funny as the original, which won a Newbery Honor. Poor Mary Alice! She is sent to Grandma's house for a year, while her parents get back on their feet after the depression. In this book, Mary Alice is fifteen and can't think of anything worse than spending time in a tiny place, so unlike her hometown of Chicago. This book finds all new adventures for Mary Alice and her eccentric grandmother, from the glue that will hold "till kingdom come" to the cherry tarts for the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution)tea, the fun just keeps coming. This book will make you laugh out loud and is a quick, enjoyable read. Definitely a MUST READ for fans of "A Long Way from Chicago".
Rating:
Summary: A Year Down Yonder: Not Far from A Long Way from Chicago
Review: Richard Peck does it again and does it better with A Year Down Yonder. It's hard to believe that anything could top the award winning A Long Way from Chicago, but this does. This time Mary Alice goes to live with Grandma Dowdel alone, and the results are hilarious. Mary, who was always more wise to the ways of her grandmother, learns a few new things about the town and her grandmother while managing to cause a stir herself. Once again, Grandma Dowdel's antics are both humorous and heart-warming, but it's her commentaries about the people of the town that make it a side-splitting riot. A Year Down Yonder is a must read.
Rating:
Summary: PERFECT BLEND OF WRITER AND PERFORMER
Review: When there's a new title by Richard Peck who has penned over 25 stories for young readers, you know you have a winner. Mix in a reading by gifted stage, screen and television actress Lori Smith and it's frosting on the cake. Newbery-Honor-winning Peck now sends 15-year-old Mary Alice to spend a year with her redoubtable grandmother in, of all places, rural Illinois. C'mon now, Mary Alice is used to Chicago - that's her kind of town. But Mary Alice is in for quite a few surprises as are listeners when Grandma Dowdle takes on the DAR, reluctant givers, and plays matchmaker. At times, it seems the whole town is about to be turned over along with Grandma's outdoor convenience! Ms. Smith is by turns raucous, sly, warm, cunning - in other words - delightful!
Rating: 
Summary: Year Down Dull
Review: The year is 1937 and the depression has hit many familys including the family of Mary Alice. Her father has lost his job, his brother is forced to move out west to plant trees for the civilian corps and her parents are forced to move into a dumpy one bedroom apartment. Mary Alice walks off the train form chicago with two thoughts in her mind and two items in her hand.....
The best things about this book are how it explains the life after the depression in a small country town, how her grandmother is so weird, also all the grandmothers schemes and how the writting was easy to understand. No really long paragraphs and no boring parts. This book was very dramatic, and great!
I reccomend this book to ages 9- 13 it was really enjoyable.
I hope you love the book!
M.S. Rox
Rating: 
Summary: a year down yonder
Review: In this book, Mary Alice moves from Chicago to the coutry side where grandma lives. Mary Alice has to move because the family is too poor to support her.
When Mary Alice moves down to live with her grandma, she has to find a new school. In the new school, she meets a girl named Mildred. Mildred is a little bit of a bully.Do you think Mary Alice ever became friends with Mildred?
Soon after school started, the whole town began to get ready for Halloween.In Chicago, Halloween was not as important as in grandma's town. Halloween was very important because in a small town people look foward to holidays.
In the school, a Christmas play was about to be performed. The school had a Chritmas play every year. When they finally performed the Christmas play, it was a blast and everybody had a great time.
Mary Alice's grandma was so out-dated she got a make over. She was looking much brtter after she was made over.
Summer was fun down there because there is no school and people can do anything for a couple of months. Still, Mary Alice did not like living at grandmas house.Do you think she stayed at grandmas house very long?
I liked this book because it showed how Mary Alice had to adjust to living with her grandmother. I can relate to this because nine years ago my grandmother came to live with my family. It takes a lot of getting used to having your grandmother around all the time.
Rating:
Summary: A Year Down Yonder
Review: In this book Mary Alice goes to live with her grandmother, who is different from any other grandmother I know. It turns out to be a whole year full of surprises, you can never guess what Mary Alice's grandmother will do next. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone.
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