The year is 1937 in a small rural town and fifteen-year-old Mary Alice’s life will never be the same after living a year with Grandma Dowdel.  At first she feels cut off from the world and is scared.  But Grandma has her own aloof way of making folks feel wanted and loved.  Life is adventuresome with Grandma, such as when she keeps the boys from stealing her outhouse at Halloween and gathers the ingredients for her pies.  Booklist says, “The heart of the book is Grandma--huge and overbearing, totally outside polite society. Just as powerful is what's hidden: Mary Alice discovers kindness and grace as well as snakes in the attic.”

Mr. Peck totally captures the feel of the time (when neighbors were the welfare system), the personality of rural society (snooty DAR women), and the heartfelt love family can develop with one another (Mary Alice goes back to get married at Grandma’s house).  His graphic descriptions paint the scene as well as an artist on a canvas.  Booklist says,” As in the first book, much of the fun comes from the larger-than-life characters, whether it's the snobbish DAR ladies or the visiting WPA artist, who paints a nude picture of the postmistress (nude , not naked ; he studied in Paris). The wry one-liners and tall tales are usually Grandma's ("When I was a girl, we had to walk in our sleep to keep from freezing to death"), or Mary Alice's commentary as she looks back ("Everybody in this town knew everything about you. They knew things that hadn't even happened yet"). "

This is a book to be enjoyed and yet gives the reader a feel of the historical times and the people living then.  Amazon.com says, “Peck is at his best with these hilarious stories that rest solidly within the American literary tradition of Mark Twain and Bret Harte. Teachers will cherish them as great read-alouds, and older teens will gain historical perspective from this lively picture of the depression years in small-town America.”

Newbery Medal Award Book, 2001

Campbell, Patty. Review of A Year Down Yonder on Amazon.com. Available from:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0142300705/ref=dp_item-information_1/103-2041485-5145439?%5Fencoding=UTF8&n=283155. Accessed 12 November 2004

Rochman, Hazel. Review of A Year Down Yonder in Booklist. Available from:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0142300705/ref=dp_item-information_1/103-2041485-5145439?%5Fencoding=UTF8&n=283155. Accessed 12 November 2004